Teen Titans: Universal Threat
by Physics Goddess
Summary: On her 19th birthday, Starfire receives a message from Slade that sends the Titans in search of an ancient weapon. Now the Titans must stay one step ahead of Slade if they want to save, not only the day, but the entire Universe! Complete!
1. Chapter 1 Starfire's Story

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: For those of you who don't already know, this is the sequel to Teen Titans: Love Hurts. So if anyone hasn't read that, please go check it out! I want to dedicate this chapter to Agent of the Divine One for making a music video for me, Phantom5656 for being such an amazing co-author, and to The Hidden Girl for her input to Enter the Ghost Zone. The music video can be accessed through my profile page. Important! I need every single one of you who reads this chapter, even if you don't like it, to leave a review with the names of two of the Titans. However, this offer expires as soon as chapter 2 is posted. You can also view the corresponding image to this story on my deviantART site!**

Chapter 1 – Starfire's Story

Cyborg sat on the sofa in the Titan's living room. His massive shoulders were drooped, and his single human eye was sad. In his robotic hands, he held an old book. The pages were worn, and yellow, but this barely registered in Cyborg's partially robotic mind.

"Hey Cy!" Cyborg dropped the book, and jumped up off of the sofa with a start. He turned and scowled down at the speaker.

"Don't sneak up on me like that B.B." Cyborg lectured. The young man in front of him simply grinned, large lower canines adding to his unusual appearance.

"Dude, you should have seen the look on your face!" the young man's deep-green eyes sparkled mischievously. "It was priceless!" Cyborg scowled down at him. Then he pushed past the other Titan and exited the living room. The lone Titan stood blinking on the rug. He reached up and confusedly ran a grey-gloved hand through his dark-green hair. "Dude, what's with him?" He wondered aloud. Something on the rug caught his eye, and he bent down to see what it was. The object was an old book. Gingerly, the Titan picked up the book. Dust from between the pages caused him to sneeze. There was only one place in the tower where this book could have come from. The young man stuck the book under his arm, and marched out of the living room whistling. Upon reaching his destination, he rapped on the door. "Hey Raven." He called. "Open up!" The door slid open a crack revealing a hooded figure. Her dark eyes stared at him intently, the shadow of her hood making her emotion difficult to determine.

"What do you want Beast Boy?" she asked, her gravely voice relatively monotone.

"Cy dropped this book," the Titan replied. He handed her the book that he had found on the rug. Raven looked at it, and frowned. Beast Boy's olive-green skin paled. "It is your book right?" He asked, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot.

"Yes," she replied. "Thank-you." As she said this, a ghost of a smile crossed her grey lips. This caused Beast Boy to grin even wider.

"Hey no problem," he replied. He glanced at the book. "So what's in this book anyway?" He asked. Raven glanced at him blankly. "Cy seemed really uptight, so I thought it might be because of whatever's in this book." Beast Boy explained.

"Oh," Raven glanced down at the book in her grey hands. "I don't know. Maybe you should go play, what is it, Large Monkey's with him." Beast Boy chuckled.

"That's 'Mega' Monkey's Raven," he corrected.

"Whatever," she replied with a shrug.

"That's a good idea though," he agreed. "I think I'll go do that."

"Such a sacrifice on your part too huh?" another smile ghosted across Raven's lips. Beast Boy grinned.

"Oh yeah," he agreed, and then he pretended to be fatigued. "Oh such a pain!" He allowed himself to fall foreword onto the ground. Raven chuckled.

"Go on," a genuine smile lit up her face. "Get out of here." Beast Boy stood up and grinned toothily at her.

"Yes ma'am!" he saluted Raven, and then marched down the hallway. "Hup, two, three, four…"

Raven smiled, and shook her head. Closing her door she could still hear Beast Boy making his way down the hallway. Then she turned her attention back to the book in her hand. She felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't been entirely honest with Beast Boy about it. She opened the book to a specific page and regarded it sadly.

The picture depicted a young, dark-skinned, woman standing triumphantly atop a fallen monster, her sword thrust into the air. The young woman was Sarasim. Cyborg had met her when he was accidentally transported into the past. Raven had pulled him into the future during the battle that was depicted on the pages of the book. He had never had the chance to say goodbye.

Raven carried the book over to the middle of her room. Using her telekinetic powers, she levitated some vials of powder towards her. She poured the powder into a circle around her, and sat down cross-legged with the book open on her lap. She began to chant softly, her eyes glowing white. She finished the spell, and closed her eyes as she was transported into the pages of the book.

When Raven opened her eyes again she was surrounded by desert. The Titan picked herself up, and dusted the sand off of her blue hooded cloak, and black leotard. She took a few steps, scowled, and levitated off of the ground. She pulled off her blue slipper-like shoes, and dumped the sand out of them before returning them to her feet, and touching back down to the ground. Raven looked around, spotted the village, and made her way towards it. Upon reaching the massive doors, Raven reached up and knocked on them. The sound seemed to echo all around the surrounding area.

"Who goes there?" a voice called down. Raven backed up so that she could see the speaker.

"My name is Raven," the Titan replied.

"You are unknown to us stranger," the voice replied.

"I am a friend of Cyborg's," Raven ventured. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the massive doors creaked open. The figure stood in the now lighted area. Raven recognized her right away as Sarasim herself.

"You are a friend of Cyborg's?" the young woman asked. Raven nodded. "Please come in." Raven followed the young woman into the village. The massive doors creaked as they shut behind her.

"Cyborg didn't abandon you," Raven spoke at length. "I took him away." Sarasim turned and regarded Raven with a perplexed look on her face. "I can do magic." Raven explained. "I reached through time and took him away. I'm sorry."

"You didn't know," Sarasim replied reassuringly.

"All the same, I wanted to apologize," Raven replied. "And offer you something." Sarasim turned and regarded her intently.

"Offer me something?" she repeated. Raven nodded. "What are you offering?"

"A chance to see Cyborg again," Raven replied. "I can bring you into the future. That is, if you want to." Sarasim considered.

"My village?" she asked a length.

"I know my History," Raven assured her. "Nothing bad will happen to your village again."

"And the future," Sarasim continued. "What is it like?"

"Unlike anything you've ever seen," Raven admitted.

"Well I would very much like to see Cyborg again," Sarasim replied. "But I think I am too primitive for the future."

"How about this," Raven offered. "I bring you to the future for a little while. Then you can decide whether or not you want to stay, or come back to your own time."

"Alright," Sarasim agreed. "But can you tell me about what life will be like there?"

"Cyborg and I are a part of a team that fights crime," Raven replied. "So you will want to bring some weapons with you."

"I am used to battles," Sarasim replied.

- Scene Break -

Beast Boy rapped on Cyborg's door, "Hey Cy open up!" He called. The robotic Titan opened the door and stared glumly down at his green friend.

"What?" he asked.

"Want to play Mega Monkey's with me?" Beast Boy asked.

"No thanks B.B." Cyborg replied. He began to close the door, but Beast Boy stuck one of his dark-magenta shoes into the crack. He winced as the door tried to close on his foot.

"Aw come on Cy!" he encouraged. The robotic Titan continued to stare dully down at him. "Please?"

"No," Cyborg repeated, and closed the door on Beast Boy's foot. The green Titan let out a yelp, and hopped up and down holding his foot in his hands.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he cried out, and hopped down the hallway. He stopped in front of Raven's door, and knocked. "Hey Raven it didn't work." He said dully. There was no response. "Raven?" Beast Boy put his foot down, and winced slightly. "Hello?" When there was still no response, the green Titan frowned. "Raven I'm coming in." He announced. He pushed a button, and the door whooshed open. The dark interior of Raven's room met his eyes.

The first thing that Beast Boy noticed was that the room was empty. He tentatively entered the forbidden room and looked around. He noticed Raven's meditation mirror, and made sure to stay well away from it. Being transported into her mind was not an experience that he was dying to repeat. Beast Boy scanned her room again, but there was no sign of the young woman. Beast Boy frowned, turned, and left Raven's room. He began to wander around Titan's tower looking for her, but there was still no sign of the telekinetic Titan. Now worried, Beast Boy trotted back to Cyborg's door and pounded on it again.

"Cy open up!" he bellowed. Cyborg opened the door and raised his one human eyebrow.

"What now man?" he asked, crossing his cybernetic arms across his chest.

"Have you seen Raven?" the green Titan enquired. Cyborg shook his head. Beast Boy threw his arms up into the air in dismay. "I can't find her anywhere." Cyborg smirked.

"Man, since when are you so worried about Raven?" he grinned down at Beast Boy. The olive-green cheeks of the young man began to turn red. Cyborg laughed uproariously. Beast Boy fiddled with his grey gloves, and scuffed the toe of his shoe on the floor. "Alright B.B. let's go look for her." He clapped Beast Boy on the back, sending the slender Titan sprawling to the floor. "Whoops." He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry man." Beast Boy muttered something inaudible, and the two young men made their way back to Raven's room. Once there, Cyborg raised his prosthetic hand and knocked loudly. "Hey Raven, you in there?" He called. As before, there was no response.

"Raven we're coming in," Beast Boy announced. He pressed the button, and again the door whooshed open. The two Titans surveyed the room quickly, but still saw no signs of Raven. Suddenly, Beast Boy noticed something that he hadn't noticed before, a book lying open on the ground. "Hey what's this?" He wondered aloud. He walked into the room, Cyborg creeping along behind him.

"If Raven catches us in here, we're dead," Cyborg stated. Beast Boy was more interested in the book on the floor than having to face Raven's wrath. Cautiously, he approached it. Around the book was a circle of powder. "This is so not going to end well." Cyborg wailed. Beast Boy ignored him, and slowly reached for the book. Abruptly a white light streamed out of the pages.

"Augh!" Beast Boy yelped, and jumped backwards into Cyborg's arms. They stood frozen in place as an arm reached out of the book. The blue wrist-band and black cloth identified the arm as Raven's. Her other arm reached out of the book, and telekinetic Titan pulled herself from the pages of the book. She regarded the two Titans clutching each other from underneath her blue hood.

"What are you doing in my room?" she asked at length. Cyborg dropped Beast Boy on the ground, and pointed accusingly at him.

"It was his idea," the robotic Titan squeaked. Beast Boy picked himself up, grimaced, and rubbed his backside.

"Tattletale," he muttered. Raven rolled her dark eyes, and then turned back to the book. Another arm reached out of the pages, and Beast Boy leapt back into Cyborg's prosthetic arms with a yelp. They watched as Raven grasped the arm, clad in tan a glove, and began to pull another figure out of the book. The figure was clad in dark-brown leggings, tan boots, a tan loincloth, and tan armour with a black half-moon and circle design on the chest. At the figure's side was a sword. Long black hair framed a dark-skinned face with blue eyes. Cyborg dropped Beast Boy again, his mouth falling open.

"Hello Cyborg," the figure said with a smile.

"Sarasim?" Cyborg asked. The figure nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to stay for a while," she replied. Cyborg's one human eye lit up. Beast Boy groaned and stood up. He rubbed his backside again, and turned around only to be met by the chest-plate of Sarasim's armour.

"Ow!" Beast Boy grabbed his nose. "At this rate, I'm going to be a walking bruise!" He looked up and regarded Sarasim with his deep-green eyes. "Uh who are you?"

"This is Sarasim," Cyborg spoke up. Beast Boy's eyes widened.

"This is Sarasim?" he repeated. Cyborg nodded. "Sweet! Welcome to Titan's tower!" He held out a grey-gloved hand to Sarasim who shook it.

"You must be Boy Beast," she spoke at length. "Raven has told me much about you."

"Actually, it's 'Beast Boy,'" Beast Boy corrected with a grin. "And what did Raven tell you? That I'm hilarious? Handsome?" He winked at Raven who rolled her dark eyes.

"Delusional," Raven muttered softly. Beast Boy's large ears drooped slightly.

"She told me that you can change into animals," Sarasim answered his question. "She also said that you can be annoying, but you mean well." Beast Boy grinned sheepishly.

"We have to show you around the tower!" Cyborg exclaimed. He grabbed Sarasim's hand and charged out of Raven's room. Beast Boy and Raven followed. Cyborg excitedly began showing Sarasim the tower. Considering the fact that the young woman was in a time 5 000 years ahead of her own time, she was adjusting fairly well. "And here we have the Titan's living room!" Cyborg threw open the doors triumphantly. Sarasim took in the massive television screen, and computer with wide eyes.

"I understand now why you said I was primitive," she murmured. "If this is the life that you are used to."

"No, you're amazing," Cyborg replied. Sarasim smiled.

"Where is the rest of your team?" Sarasim inquired. "I am anxious to meet your friends."

"One way to find out," Beast Boy replied. He strolled over to a red button.

"B.B. no!" Cyborg exclaimed. The green Titan ignored the plea of his friend, and slammed his fist down on the button. Immediately, an alarm echoed throughout Titan's tower. Within moments, the doors of the living room flew open and another young man ran in. His jet-black hair was held in place by gel, and his black and yellow cape streamed out behind him.

"What's the trouble?" he asked. Cyborg, and Raven pointed at Beast Boy. The green Titan grinned sheepishly. The young man frowned, his mask narrowing. He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Beast Boy sternly. Then he noticed Sarasim. "Who is this?" He asked.

"The reason I hit the alarm," Beast Boy replied.

"My name is Sarasim," Sarasim introduced herself. "You must be Robin, the team's leader."

"That's right," the Boy Wonder confirmed. He reached out a turquoise-gloved hand in greeting, which Sarasim shook.

"Uh Robin," Raven spoke up. The Titan's leader turned his attention to her. "Where's…" Before she could finish the question, the doors opened and a beautiful young woman flew in. She was a blur of purple, and mauve, with long red hair streaming out behind her.

"Forgive my tardiness friends," the young woman gushed. "But Silkie required my attention and…" She turned and noticed Sarasim. Her green eyes lit up, and she flew over to the dark-skinned girl. "Please you must tell me, who are you, where are you from, how did you get here, what is your favourite colour, and might you wish to be my friend?"

"I am Sarasim," the latter replied. "I am from the past, I was brought here by Raven, I don't have a favourite colour, and sure." The beautiful girl clapped her hands together happily, and enveloped Sarasim into a bone-crushing hug.

"Welcome new friend!" she gushed. Then she released Sarasim, and floated over towards Robin. The two Titans exchanged smiles.

"Starfire right?" Sarasim asked. The purple clad Titan nodded happily. Robin opened his mouth to speak, but the gigantic screen crackled to life revealing a masked figure.

"Hello Titans," the voice was soft, but menacing. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." The single eye on the orange half of his mask narrowed. Robin clenched his fists.

"Slade," he spat out the name. The villain crossed his arms across his chest. "What do you want?"

"Now Robin, is that really the way to treat an old friend?" Slade asked mockingly.

"I'm not your friend," Robin hissed. Slade chuckled sadistically, and then regarded the Titans one-by-one until his gaze rested upon Starfire.

"Hello birthday girl," the single eye narrowed again. "I have a message." He then proceeded to say something that none of the Titans understood. As suddenly as he had appeared, Slade's image vanished from the screen. The Titans turned around and looked at Starfire. Her green eyes were wide.

"Starfire," Robin made his way towards her. "What just happened?"

"Dude, how come you didn't tell us it was your birthday?" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Yeah Star," Cyborg chimed in. "I could've made my famous eight layered cake with three different types of frosting."

"More importantly," Robin spoke again. "How did Slade know it was your birthday?"

"I don't understand Tamaranian," Raven spoke up. "But whatever Slade said, it didn't sound good."

"What Slade spoke of is a secret that my family has passed down from generation to generation," Starfire finally spoke. "The only way he could possibly know both the anniversary of my birth, and the legend is if…" The screen crackled to life again. This time it was a young woman's image that filled the screen. She had long black hair, violet eyes, a black mini-skirt, grey belt, black and grey thigh-high boots, grey-fingerless gloves, and a black and grey high-necked sleeveless shirt that would have exposed her midriff if the skin from her neck down hadn't been covered with grey armour.

"Hello little sister," she smirked at Starfire. "I trust I haven't ruined your 19th birthday."

"Yes you have Blackfire," Starfire flew up and shook her fist at her sister's face. "You will not get away with this!" Blackfire simply laughed, and her image vanished from the screen. Starfire sighed, and floated back down to the ground. The Titans and Sarasim made their way towards her. Robin laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Starfire," he said softly. "What's going on?"

"It is the secret that my family has kept," Starfire replied. "A long time ago the people of Tamaran and the people of Azarath came together to build an ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, they underestimated the power of this weapon, discovering that it could in fact destroy a planet. Not wanting the weapon to fall into the wrong hands, the people of Tamaran and Azarath sent it away in a space ship."

"Well where is it now?" Beast Boy asked.

"No one knows," Starfire replied with a shrug. "The only other thing that my sister and I were told was the message that Slade delivered. Translated it reads 'The secret lies with Milo's Venus.'"

"So what the heck does that mean?" Beast Boy asked.

"I do not know," Starfire admitted sadly. The Titans were silent for a while.

"It's a clue," Sarasim spoke up. "A clue to the whereabouts of this weapon. Most likely passed down so that if needed, a member of your family could find it and destroy it before it got into the wrong hands."

"That means Blackfire is trying to find it too," Raven replied. "And she's teaming up with Slade to do it."

"Then we'll just have to find it before she does," Cyborg announced. Then he turned to Sarasim. "This isn't your fight Sarasim." He said softly. "You do not have to fight it."

"You assisted us in our battle," Sarasim replied. "So I will stay and help you with yours." Cyborg's face lit up.

"So, 'The secret lies with Milo's Venus' huh?" Beast Boy confirmed. Starfire nodded. Beast Boy furrowed his black eyebrows. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Could it mean the planet Venus?" Cyborg ventured.

"No, that doesn't fit with the Milo part," Robin frowned and began to pace. His black metal-enforced shoes made no noise on the rug.

"It's the Venus de Milo," Raven realized aloud at length.

"Is that a place?" Beast Boy asked her. Raven shook her head.

"No, it's a statue," she replied. "Currently residing in The Louvre in Paris."

"Well then I guess we're going to Paris," Sarasim replied.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist. "We can see that big tower thingy and that famous arch!"

"That's the Eiffel Tower," Raven corrected. "And the Arch de Triumph." Beast Boy's ears drooped.

"Besides," Robin crossed his arms again. "We won't have time to sight-see, we'll be there strictly on business. Titans, pack for Paris."

"Hold on," Sarasim frowned. "We want to find this before Slade right?" Robin nodded. "Well won't we draw attention to ourselves looking the way we do?"

"She's right," Cyborg replied. "We'll have to do this like normal American citizens."

"I'll book us the earliest possible flight to Paris," Robin replied. "Titans, dress like civilians, we don't want to attract any attention."

"Uh dude," Beast Boy piped up. "What about me?"

"No problem B.B." Cyborg's arm produced a needle. "I'll analyze your DNA and see if I can find something to stabilize it." Beast Boy paled at the sight of the needle.

"I shall take Sarasim to the mall of shopping to purchase some clothes," Starfire offered. Then she dragged Sarasim out of the room. Robin sat down at the computer and began to type.

"Alright B.B." Cyborg announced. "Let's have a look at this DNA of yours." He rolled up the black sleeve of Beast Boy's costume exposing his olive-green bicep. Raven noticed that her green team-mate had tears in his eyes. She walked over to him, and sat down.

"Beast Boy," she reached out, and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "Look at me." The green Titan turned towards her, his deep-green eyes filled with tears. Cyborg tied an elastic band around Beast Boy's arm to make his veins stick out. Unfortunately, this also got Beast Boy's attention. Raven firmly, but gently, turned his face back towards her. "Beast Boy." She repeated. "Look at me." A tear escaped and ran down his face. Raven gently brushed it away. "Look at me." She repeated gently. Cyborg slid the needle into Beast Boy's arm. The green Titan stiffened, and bit his lip. "Look at me." Raven insisted. She kept her dark eyes locked with his as blood began to fill the needle, Beast Boy's blood.

"Alright, that should do it," Cyborg announced, taping a cotton ball onto Beast Boy's arm. "I'll go analyze this and see what I can come up with." This being said, the robotic Titan exited the living room. Beast Boy rolled the sleeve of his costume back down.

"Raven?" he looked up at her. "Thank-you."

"No problem," she replied with a smile. Then she got up and headed to her room to pack.


	2. Chapter 2 Terminal Titans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Wow, sorry that this took so long to post. I fried my laptop. Important! Like the last chapter, I need every single one of you who reads this chapter, even if you don't like it, to leave a review with the names of two of the Titans. Please choose different Titans than you did last time. As before, this offer expires as soon as chapter 3 is posted. Also, please do not flame me for my choices of the Titans ages. This is just how old I think they are.**

Chapter 2 – Terminal Titans

For the first time in her life, Raven was grateful for the amount of things that Starfire had made her buy. The Titan opened her closet and began rummaging around. She pulled out a black long-sleeved top, and put it on her bed. She also pulled out a blue hoodie, a pair of black cargo-pants, and some blue and black skateboard shoes. Raven dug around, and pulled out a black one-piece swimsuit, and put that on her bed. Moving aside her many cloaks, Raven revealed a black, caterpillar rouched dress. She gingerly took it off its hook, and placed it on her bed along with a shoebox and a blue satin clutch. She figured that it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Raven also dug out her iPod Touch and put it on her bed next to her clothes. Then Raven exited her room, and made her way to the single bathroom in Titan's tower. She picked up her toothbrush, and brought it back to her room. Picking up her black cloth-bag, Raven realized that her things were not going to fit. The Titan scowled, and went back to her closet. Rummaging around again, she pulled out a black and blue suitcase. Starfire had made Raven purchase this shortly after Terra had been placed in the local mental rehab facility. The alien princess had thought that the Titans needed something to take their minds off of Terra's repeated betrayal.

Raven began to pack her things into the suitcase. She decided to bring her costume as well, just to cover all possibilities. She pulled an extra blue-hooded cloak, black leotard, pair of blue wrist-bands, pair of blue slipper-like shoes, and decorative belt out of the closet, and packed it in with her other clothing. She turned and regarded her undercover clothing. With a sigh, she stripped off her costume, and pulled them on. Then she pulled up the hood of her hoodie, turned and exited her room again.

- Scene Break -

Beast Boy rummaged around in his closet. Currently, the green Titan was clad only in his dark-magenta boxer shorts. His costume lay on the floor beside him. Beast Boy began to toss random things over his shoulders. Comics, a rubber ducky, some old towels, miscellaneous socks, a toy monkey with symbols, a pillow, some unused hangars, deodorant, a half-eaten tofu sandwich, until he finally found what he was looking for. Triumphantly, the Titan pulled out a pair of dark-magenta and black skateboard shoes. He pulled them onto his feet, and continued to root about. He pulled out a dark-magenta long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black cargo-pants. These he pulled on as well. Continuing to throw things over his shoulder, the green Titan found a pair of dark-magenta swim trunks, and a black tuxedo.

Beast Boy regarded this last item of clothing suspiciously. He couldn't remember ever having a tuxedo in his closet. Shrugging, he dumped it on the pile of clothes beside him. Then he pulled out a black and dark-magenta duffel bag. He opened it, and began to stuff the clothes inside. Beast Boy paused, and decided to pack his costume as well. So into the bag went his grey gloves, black and dark-magenta outfit, grey belt, and dark-magenta shoes. Beast Boy then trotted to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. Entering his room again, the green Titan dumped this into the bag as well as an iPod. Satisfied, Beast Boy dusted off his hands, and zipped up his duffel bag. Then he made his way to the Titan's living room.

Robin was seated at the computer. At first glance, Beast Boy did not recognise the team's leader. His usual costume consisting of a red t-shirt with turquoise sleeves, three yellow bands, and a circle with an 'R' in it, yellow utility belt, turquoise pants, black and yellow cape, turquoise elbow-length gloves, and black shoes, had been replaced with a red t-shirt, black unbuttoned vest, turquoise cargo-pants, and black skateboard shoes.

"Hey Robin," Beast Boy went over to him. "What are you doing?"

"Booking us a flight to Paris," Robin replied. Beast Boy noticed that sunglasses had replaced Robin's mask.

"Hey B.B." Beast Boy turned as Cyborg entered the room. Following the robotic Titan was Raven. Beast Boy found himself staring at her. Dressed in a hoodie, cargo-pants, and skateboard shoes, Raven looked completely different from the dark Titan that he knew. "I think I've found the solution to your problem." Cyborg boasted. He held up a small bottle filled with white pills. Beast Boy gulped, and sat down. "These should stabilize your DNA enough to change your appearance while still allowing you to morph." Cyborg handed Beast Boy a white pill. "Hypothetically, your animal morphs will also look normal too."

"Hypothetically?" Raven repeated. Cyborg shrugged his massive shoulders. Beast Boy paled slightly. Raven gave him an encouraging smile, and Beast Boy gingerly took the white pill into his hand. He regarded it silently for a moment, and then swallowed it.

"Okay," Cyborg glanced down at his arm, and began typing. "It should be hitting your blood-stream right about…now." Beast Boy's body tensed. His fingers gripped the sofa tightly. His chest began to heave, and his body began to tremble. Raven shot a look at Cyborg who shrugged helplessly. "I didn't know this would happen." The robotic Titan wailed.

"You're stabilizing his DNA," Raven retorted. "Did you think it would be pleasant?" Cyborg shrugged sadly. Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut, his body trembling violently. A tear escaped from his tightly closed eye and rolled down his cheek. Raven sat down beside him, and gently placed her hand on his trembling shoulder. Beast Boy opened his eyes and regarded her. His deep-green eyes were filled with pain, and Raven could actually feel the pain radiating from her team-mate's body. Beast Boy let out a small whimper of pain.

Raven gently took him into her arms. Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, and held her tightly, burying his face into her shoulder. She had never been so close to Beast Boy before. Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair, and rubbed his back with her other hand. Beast Boy clutched her tightly, his breathing ragged. Raven continued to hold him. Even after his body stopped trembling quite as badly, and his breathing quieted.

Eventually Beast Boy pulled his face away from Raven's shoulder. Raven's eyes widened. This was not the Beast Boy that she knew. His large ears had diminished down to a normal size, and she could see that his canines had also diminished in size. His usually olive-green skin was now Caucasian. What stood out the most to Raven was that Beast Boy's dark-green hair was now blonde, and his deep-green eyes were a stunning shade of blue.

"Did it work?" the voice reminded her that the young man in front of her was actually Beast Boy.

"Take a look," Raven replied. Beast Boy stared down at his now Caucasian hands.

"Whoa," Cyborg's human eye widened. "So this is what you'd look like if you weren't, you know…?"

"Green?" Beast Boy finished somewhat bitterly. Cyborg nodded. "Yeah."

"Huh," Cyborg crossed his massive arms over his chest. "You should test out my theory." He spoke at length. "About your animal morphs."

"Uh one problem with that Cy," Beast Boy replied. "These clothes don't have unstable molecules. They won't morph with me."

"I've got you covered B.B." Cyborg replied, and produced a spray-bottle. He sprayed Beast Boy's clothing with it. "Now try." He requested, a wide grin on his face. Beast Boy sighed, became an orange cat, and then changed back to himself. "Booyah!" Cyborg pumped his fist. "It worked!"

"Nice choice of morphs," Raven said with a smile. Beast Boy grinned widely.

"Seemed appropriate somehow," he winked at her. He took the bottle of pills from Cyborg, and the spray-bottle.

"Now the thing is B.B." Cyborg cleared his throat nervously. "You're going to have to take one of those every day."

"What?" Raven and Beast Boy asked in unison.

"The medication can only stabilize your genetics for 24 hours," Cyborg replied.

"So let me get this straight," Raven scowled. "He has to go through that every morning?"

"Well it probably won't be as bad since it's already in his system," Cyborg replied. Beast Boy sighed.

"Great," he muttered. Raven reached out, and put her hand on his in a comforting gesture. Beast Boy glanced up at her and his now blue eyes locked with her dark ones. For a while they sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Finally, Cyborg cleared his throat, bringing the Titan's back to reality. They both blushed furiously. The sound of the door opening thankfully brought the attention away from the two blushing Titans.

Starfire and Sarasim came into the room. Sarasim was loaded down with bags, and an overwhelmed expression on her dark face. She was dressed now in a pair of brown corduroy pants, and a tan tank-top. Starfire had changed into a purple jean skirt, knee-high purple boots, and a purple tank-top. Except for Cyborg, the Titans now looked relatively normal.

"Well, now that we're all here," Cyborg booted Robin off of the computer. "We can go about making our passports." The Titans gathered around the computer, and watched as Cyborg began to type. "Okay y'all, first things first I need everyone's names." There was an awkward silence. "Your real names." Cyborg clarified. When no one spoke, Cyborg gave an exasperated sigh. "Well don't everyone start talking at once." Still no one spoke. "Fine, I'll go first. My name's Victor Stone."

"Richard Grayson," Robin spoke at length. Cyborg typed this in.

"Raven Roth," Raven went next. Cyborg hesitated for a moment before typing this in.

"Garfield Mark Logan," Beast Boy stuck his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor. Cyborg grinned, but said nothing, and typed this in.

"I am most distressed friend," Starfire wailed. "For my name is Starfire."

"Well," Cyborg pursed his lips. "How about we split your name into Starr Fyre?"

"Glorious," Starfire gushed.

"I have the same problem as Starfire," Sarasim spoke up. "My name is Sarasim."

"Well then we'll split your name up into Sarah Simm," Cyborg suggested.

"Ok," Sarasim agreed.

"Ok, now I need your birth-dates," Cyborg stated. The Titans each gave theirs. Raven had to give Sarasim's since the new Titan was still only familiar with the time-frame of 3 000 BCE.

"Friend Robin," Starfire piped up. "You did not tell us that it was your 19th birthday recently."

"I didn't think it was important," the Boy Wonder replied with a shrug. "Besides, you didn't tell us it was your birthday either." Starfire blushed.

"I was unsure if speaking of the 19th anniversary of your birth was normal," she glanced over at Raven as she said this.

"Dude," Beast Boy threw up his hands in exasperation. "What is with you guys and not telling us it's your birthday?" This was a rhetorical question, and so no one answered. "I mean come on! Cy, you're turning 20 and you didn't tell me!" The robotic Titan shifted slightly.

"Well it means we won't be the 'Teen' Titans anymore," he replied.

"So?" Beast Boy shrugged. Cyborg didn't have a response to this, and so kept quiet.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat at length. "We all need to have our pictures taken for our passports."

"But Cyborg," Sarasim spoke up. "The rest of us now look normal, but won't you be noticed?"

"Oh, right," Cyborg smacked himself in the head. Then he fished out two rings from one of his cybernetic arms. He slipped these onto his middle-fingers and pressed them together. Immediately, his prosthetics were replaced with normal dark skin. His holographic image also had him in a white muscle-shirt, and blue jeans. He regarded Sarasim sadly. "This is what I used to look like." He murmured. "Before…" Cyborg lowered his eyes. "Before the accident." Sarasim laid her hand gently on his arm.

"We are not so different," she assured him softly. The two dark-skinned Titans gazed at each other for a few moments. Robin cleared his throat.

"Pictures Cyborg?" he asked pointedly. Cyborg grinned sheepishly, and consented. Once this was finished, Cyborg finished things up on the computer, and handed out passports to each of the Titans.

"I've also switched our bank accounts to be under our real names as well," Cyborg explained. "This way Slade will have a harder time following us." Robin looked over at the clock.

"Okay Titans," he piped up. "Our flight leaves tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. This means that we should be up at 5:00 and at the airport by 6:00."

"What?" Beast Boy shrieked. "Get up at 5:00 in the morning?"

"Yes," Robin confirmed. "So we should all get a good night's sleep." Beast Boy groaned loudly.

"Where shall Sarasim sleep?" Starfire inquired.

"There's always Terra's old room," Raven suggested softly. Beast Boy cringed slightly at the blonde's name. Sarasim looked confused.

"I shall explain later," Starfire assured her.

"Night y'all," Cyborg yawned. The Titans all trooped out of the living room, and went their separate ways.

- Scene Break -

Raven awoke promptly at 5:00. For a few minutes, she could not bring herself to get out of bed. Finally, she forced her tired body into a sitting position, and looked groggily around her room. Yawning widely, the telekinetic Titan stumbled out of bed. She grabbed her suitcase, and shuffled sleepily out of her room, down the hallway, and into the Titan's living room. The room was dark, and empty. Raven yawned again, and began to make some tea. She figured that everyone would need the caffeine.

She turned at the sound of the doors opening and closing. To her surprise, it was not Robin who shuffled into the living room, but Beast Boy. His duffel bag was slung over his shoulder, and his bright-blue eyes were fatigued. Seeing him without his usual olive-green skin, deep-green eyes and hair was still strange, and Raven found that she was unable to tear her gaze away from him. Beast Boy looked up at her and smiled sleepily.

"Morning," he murmured. He came over to her, and leaned against one of the counters. "Why did Robin have to get the earliest flight?" He whined. Raven shrugged, and handed Beast Boy a steaming mug of tea. "Thanks." He smiled appreciatively.

"No problem," Raven smiled slightly. Beast Boy began to sip the tea absent-mindedly. Raven abruptly remembered Beast Boy's medication. "Beast Boy did you take your medication?" She asked. The young man groaned.

"I knew I was forgetting to do something," he muttered with a yawn. He knelt down and rummaged through his duffel bag. Finally he pulled out his bottle of pills. Taking one out, he put the bottle back in the bag, zipped it up, popped the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it. After a few moments, he gripped the counter, his slender body trembling slightly. Raven reached over, and put her hand on his. Eventually Beast Boy relaxed. Raven gave his hand a squeeze, and continued to make tea.

Eventually, the rest of the Titans joined them. Raven was secretly satisfied that Starfire didn't look her usual gorgeous self. The alien's green eyes were exhausted, and her movements were slow. Even Robin was not immune to the lack of sleep. The shoulders of the Boy Wonder were slumped, and he yawned continually.

"Remind me again why you had to get the earliest flight?" Cyborg asked irritably.

"We need to be in Paris as soon as possible," Robin replied. Cyborg shrugged, and the Titans trooped into the garage. They reached the airport at 5:30. Robin was on his R-cycle since the T-car only sat five. There had been a heated argument whether or not he was fit to drive being so fatigued, but Robin had pulled himself together and gotten to the airport without a problem. Once inside the terminal, Cyborg called the Titans East to come pick up the T-car and R-cycle.

"Don't know how long we'll be gone," he explained to Beast Boy after he had hung up. "And I don't want my baby to be stolen. Or the R-cycle." The robotic Titan seemed to add this as an after-thought. As the Titans lined up to go through security, Beast Boy had a terrible thought.

"Dude," he hissed to Cyborg. "Won't you set off the metal detectors?"

"Nope," Cyborg grinned. "My prosthetics are a type of metal that these detectors can't register." Sure enough, when the robotic Titan passed through the metal detector, no alarms went off. The Titans all inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. Within a few minutes, the Titans reached their destination. They had about half an hour before the plane would board. Starfire and Robin remained standing. Cyborg and Sarasim sat down and he began to teach her rock-paper-scissors.

Raven sat down, and pulled a book out of her suitcase, and began to read. Beast Boy sat down next to her, and stared out into space, an exhausted expression on his face. Gradually, Raven felt a weight on her shoulder. Glancing over, she noticed that Beast Boy's head was resting on her shoulder, and he was sound asleep. His mouth was open, and he was drooling slightly onto her sleeve. Raven made a face, but couldn't quite bring herself to wake him up.

"Attention, attention," the intercom woke him for her. "Flight 209, Jump City to Paris has been delayed. New departure time 8:00 a.m."

"What?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding me! I could've slept in an hour!" Raven rolled her eyes, and went back to her book. She had an odd feeling of foreboding, but shrugged it off.

- Scene Break -

Beast Boy and Raven wandered aimlessly through the terminals. Their flight had been delayed for another hour yet again. The two Titans had been sick of sitting, so they had decided to stretch their legs. Since it was now past noon, the two Titans decided to find some food. They were in no hurry to return to their terminal. Robin had looked on the verge of exploding when the intercom had announced yet another delay.

Beast Boy yawned widely, and quietly followed Raven. She had found somewhere that sold muffins, and they were currently in line. A few times, the sleepy Titan had walked too far foreword, and stepped on Raven's heals. She hadn't been too thrilled with this, but hadn't said anything. Beast Boy figured that as soon as they were alone, she'd hurt him. He smiled faintly, and was barely aware of Raven ordering food for herself and the others until she shoved a muffin in his face.

"Here," she shook it in front of him. "Take it." Beast Boy gratefully took the muffin, and took a bite. It was lemon poppy-seed. He smiled at her.

"Thanks," he meant his words. Raven smiled in return, but said nothing.

"Attention, attention," the Titans glanced at each other. "Flight 209, Jump City to Paris has been delayed. New departure time 2:00 p.m." Both Raven and Beast Boy groaned at the news.

"What could be taking this long?" Raven wondered aloud. Beast Boy shrugged.

"Who knows," he replied. After a few moments of silence he added. "Oh well, it's not like they can delay it for much longer right?"

- Scene Break -

At 4:00 the Titans were finally on board the plane. There was no explanation as to why the plane had been delayed for nine hours. The flight-attendants, and the captain, all apologized profusely, and informed everyone that their tickets would be compensated for by the airport. Beast Boy sat between Raven and a blonde teenager. She had been staring at him since he sat down.

Robin was muttering to himself from his seat beside Starfire. Only occasional phrases such as 'delayed for nine hours' could be discerned. Starfire patted his hand in an attempt to calm him down. Sarasim was now an expert in rock-paper-scissors and had successfully beaten Cyborg ten times in a row. He was delighted by how quickly she adapted to everything. He knew that she must be feeling very overwhelmed, but she was handling it beautifully.

Robin was still muttering once the plane was in the air. He had calculated that since the flight was six hours long, the Titans would arrive in Paris at 10:00. This would not give them any time to visit the Louvre. He couldn't believe the inconvenience that this ridiculous delay had caused. Briefly, he wondered if Slade was behind the plane's delay, but he couldn't be certain that Slade even knew that they had been leaving for Paris. However, since no reason was given, the Boy Wonder continued to mutter quietly.

The blonde beside Beast Boy eventually spoke, "So you headed to Paris?" She asked. Beast Boy nodded. "So am I." She batted her brown eyes at him. Beast Boy wondered why she was flirting with him. He considered briefly that it was because he was a Titan. Then he remembered his appearance was different. "Get a load of the girl beside you." The blonde jerked her head in Raven's direction. The telekinetic Titan was watching the film that was showing, a blank expression on her grey face. Her dark eyes stared impassively out from underneath her hood. Beast Boy narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"Excuse me," he scowled. "But she happens to be my friend." The blonde's brown eyes widened.

"Oh," she laughed nervously. "I didn't think that someone as handsome as you would be seen with a weirdo like her." Beast Boy's blue eyes flashed.

"Appearances can be deceiving," he growled. "Raven is one of the most beautiful people I've ever known." The blonde shrank under his statement, and Beast Boy snorted. He turned, and jumped when he found Raven staring at him. For a while, neither Titan spoke. Then Raven turned back to the film.

- Scene Break -

"Ugh," Cyborg groaned. "I'm so stiff!" He stretched his powerful limbs, and yawned.

"We need to find somewhere to spend the night," Robin stated. "Since our flight was so late."

"There's only one problem dude," Beast Boy piped up. "None of us speak French."

"Perhaps I may be of assistance," Starfire suggested. She glanced around, spotted a young man, strode over, and kissed him. Robin scowled. The alien princes pulled away and spoke to the young man in French. He gestured over his shoulder. She smiled, and the young man gazed at her with a love-struck expression on his face. "He says there is a Youth Hostel in which we may stay." Starfire informed the Titans. "It is this way."

The Titans trooped after the beautiful alien wearily. Robin was still scowling, his knuckles were white from gripping his suitcase so tightly. Soon the Titans were standing outside of a brick building. Upon entering, they were greeted by an elderly woman. Starfire quickly took control, while the Titans glanced around.

"She says that she has a room available," Starfire said at last.

"Great," Robin smiled. The woman said something, and Starfire grimaced.

"She says that there are only two beds in the room," the alien sighed.

"It's better than nothing," Robin replied. "Tell her that we'll take it." Starfire consented, and after paying the woman, the Titans were led into a small room. As the woman had stated, there were only two beds. The woman said something to Starfire.

"She says she will find some sleeping bags, and some extra pillows," the alien translated.

"Tell her 'thank-you,'" Robin said with a smile. Again, the alien princess consented, and the elderly woman set off. The Titans closed the door. They looked at each other, and then at the two beds.

"Al right y'all," Cyborg frowned. "How do we want to do this?"

"Well these beds can probably hold two each," Robin replied. "So that means two of us will have to sleep on the floor."

"Brilliant work Einstein," Raven muttered. "We totally didn't see that for ourselves." Robin glared at her.

"How do we then decide who sleeps on the floor?" Starfire enquired.

"We could draw straws," Beast Boy piped up.

"Beast Boy," Raven turned to him. "That is…" The Titan flinched, expecting a hurtful, sarcastic remark to escape the telekinetic Titan's grey lips. "Not a bad idea." Raven finished. Beast Boy turned and stared at her, his blue eyes wide with astonishment.

"What?" he asked.

"You heard me," Raven rolled her eyes. "I said that your idea was a good one." Beast Boy's mouth dropped open.

"Sweet!" he pumped his fist into the air. "Go Garfield, you're a genius! Go Garfield."

"Having a good idea hardly makes you a genius," Raven replied dryly. Beast Boy's shoulders slumped. Cyborg went over to the tiny window in the room, and opened it. A tree happened to be beside the window.

"Dude," Beast Boy grinned. "What are the chances?" No one said anything. Cyborg broke off six branches, and made them all the same length. Then he made two of the branches shorter. The cybernetic Titan placed all the branches, so that they looked the same length, in his hand.

"All right y'all," he announced. "Choose your weapon." One-by-one, the Titans chose a branch. Then they all compared the lengths. Beast Boy groaned, and turned to Raven.

"Well, it looks like we've got the floor," he grumbled. Raven nodded. At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Starfire answered it, said something in French to the woman, and closed the door. Turning around, she produced two sleeping bags, and two pillows. Raven and Beast Boy took these, put them on the floor, and crawled in. The four remaining Titans stood embarrassed on the floor for a few minutes. Finally Sarasim broke the silence.

"Victor," she turned to Cyborg, "We can share a bed." Cyborg's cheeks began to burn, and Beast Boy grinned widely. When Robin realized that this meant sharing a bed with Starfire, his face too flushed scarlet. Beast Boy began to laugh.

"Dude," he gasped between laughs. "I so wish that I had a camera!" Abruptly, the lights went out. "Hey!" Beast Boy shrieked into the blackness. "Who did that?"

"Wasn't me," Raven replied from beside him.

"The lights are probably on a timer," Robin explained. "Well, we might as well get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Yes," Starfire gushed into the darkness. "Pleasant dreams everyone."

"And hope that Raven doesn't accidentally kill us during the night," Beast Boy grinned into the blackness that surrounded him.

"Well if I do, you'll be the first one to know," Raven replied dryly.

"Oh come on Raven," Beast Boy turned towards the sound of her voice. "You know you love me." As an answer, Raven reached over, and gave Beast Boy a gentle smack on the head. "Ow!" He exclaimed.

"Anyway," Cyborg interrupted. "Good night y'all."


	3. Chapter 3 The Titans in Paris

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Well I'm back on track with this story now. I must admit I'm a bit stunned by the flame I received on my last chapter. Except for the comment from TerraBB on Love Hurts, I've never been flamed so badly! Won't go into details, but if anyone feels the need to flame me, at least make sure that it's helpful. Thanks. Anyway, like the last chapter, I need every single one of you who reads this chapter, even if you don't like it, to leave a review with the names of two of the Titans. Please choose different Titans than you did last time. As before, this offer expires as soon as chapter 4 is posted. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3 – The Titans in Paris

Cyborg opened his eyes as the alarm clock in the robotic part of his brain went off. It took only a moment for his human and robotic eye to adjust to the light. When they did, the sleeping face of Sarasim confronted him. Cyborg felt his cheeks begin to burn.

"Augh!" he leapt back, and fell onto the ground with a crash. Now on the ground, he was horrified to see Raven sit up and glare at him. "Double augh!" Cyborg jumped to his feet.

"Calm down," the telekinetic Titan ordered softly. Cyborg blinked, and looked around. The rest of the Titans were regarding him with sleepy eyes. Except for Robin, whose eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. It only took a moment for Cyborg's robotic mind to recall the data from the previous day. Still, his dark cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He muttered something inaudible.

From his sleeping bag, Beast Boy gave a wide yawn, "Dude, why'd you have to fall out of bed?" He whined. "You interrupted my beauty sleep."

"Sorry Gar," Cyborg grinned. "You must really need it, you look a tad green." His grin faded when he realized what the culprit was. Beast Boy sighed, rummaged through his duffel bag, pulled out his bottle of pills, took out a pill, and put the bottle back. For a moment, he gazed at the white pill. Only Cyborg and Raven knew the reason for his hesitation, but Robin soon became irritated.

"Come on Garfield," he stated. "We don't have all day." Raven shot an ugly look at the team's leader, and scooted closer to Beast Boy. As he swallowed the pill, Beast Boy felt Raven interlock her fingers with his own. He gripped it tightly as the pill's effects took over. After a few moments of searing pain, Beast Boy relaxed. "I'm sorry Garfield." Robin stated softly. "I didn't know the medication did that."

"It's alright dude," Beast Boy forced a grin at the Boy Wonder. "You can make it up to me by letting me buy a souvenir." Robin raised an eyebrow, but shrugged in consent. Cyborg rolled his eyes, and knelt by the suitcases.

"What are you doing Victor?" Sarasim asked curiously.

"I'm putting hologram projectors onto our suitcases," Cyborg replied. He took what looked like a cell-phone out of his pocket, and turned it on. Immediately, the suitcases disappeared. Starfire gasped.

"Our suitcases have vanished," she cried.

"Take it easy Starr," Cyborg tried to reassure the distraught alien. "They're still there. This is to make sure they don't get stolen." Starfire gave a sigh of relief. "And if they do, the projector's also act as a tracking device." Cyborg explained. "So we'll be able to find them."

"Wow," Sarasim exclaimed. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to this world."

"Can we go now?" Raven asked dully.

- Scene Break -

"Tell me again why I let Garfield talk me into this?" Robin groaned. Starfire sat next to him, happily enjoying some frog's legs.

"I believe it was the guilt yes?" she answered Robin's question. Robin nodded, bemoaning his decision, and nibbled on his baguette. Cyborg sat next to him, devouring his own baguette.

"Who cares," the robotic Titan shrugged, and went back to his baguette. "It means we got to sample the French cuisine." Raven and Sarasim ate their croissants quietly. Currently, the Titans were seated in a marketplace. For the past half-an-hour, an enthusiastic Beast Boy had dragged them to random stores. They only sat where they were now because Raven had refused point-blank to go into any more stores until she had had something to eat.

Beast Boy came towards them sporting a black beret. He was eating a baguette with great gusto. Raven felt her breath catch in her throat. The beret against his blonde hair and blue eyes made Beast Boy look very attractive. Raven noticed, as he drew closer, that she could see the definition of his muscles through his long-sleeved shirt. Her love for him only accented his attractiveness, and Raven continued to stare at him.

"Starr what are you eating?" Beast Boy's distressed voice startled Raven.

"I am enjoying the legs of the frog," Starfire gushed. Beast Boy's face turned a sickly shade of green, and he gave out a croak.

"Hey Starr, can I try one?" Cyborg asked. He had finished his baguette, and was still hungry. Starfire happily handed him a frog's leg. Cyborg made a point of eating it loudly. Beast Boy croaked again.

"Dude," he moaned softly.

"Can you two eat those somewhere else?" Raven asked coldly. Starfire looked confusedly at the telekinetic Titan and then gasped.

"Oh forgive me friend Garfield," she gushed. "I had forgotten that you are a vegetarian." She departed, taking her frog's legs, and an irate Cyborg, with her. Beast Boy groaned, and sank down onto a bench.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he whispered. Raven sat down next to him, and rubbed his back. At length, the alien princess and robotic Titan returned. Neither of them mentioned the frog's legs. Starfire looked worriedly over at Beast Boy. He had his head between his knees, and Raven was still rubbing his back.

"You must forgive me friend," she pleaded. "I will no longer consume the legs of the frogs." Beast Boy managed a small smile.

"It's okay Starr," he forced the words out, but the lovely alien did not look convinced.

"I like your hat Garfield," Raven changed the subject, hoping to take her team-mate's mind off of the frog's legs. Beast Boy glanced up at her, and his stunning blue eyes sparkled.

"Really?" he asked somewhat suspiciously. Raven nodded. "Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "Go Garfield! Raven likes your hat! Go Garfield!" Raven rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"If it's at all possible," Robin piped up irritably. "I'd like to get to the Louvre before it's too late." Beast Boy smiled sheepishly, and the Titans stood. Unfortunately, it took them longer than expected to reach the museum because no one could understand the signs. Starfire had to ask directions while Robin muttered something about wasting time. The Titans finally reached the Louvre, and Beast Boy plopped down onto one of the benches and groaned.

"Dude," he exclaimed. "My feet are killing me! How long were we walking?"

"Around an hour and a half," Raven replied. Beast Boy stared at her.

"That's it?" he asked suspiciously. "It felt like we were walking for ever!" Raven rolled her eyes again. He stood with a groan, and stretched.

"Come on Gar," Cyborg bellowed from the doorway. "We don't have all day!" Beast Boy and Raven quickly made their way towards the rest of the Titans. After paying, the Titans were wandering the vast hallways of the Louvre. Sarasim was awed by the paintings. They helped to explain what had happened in the 3 000 years between the time-frame that she was accustomed to, and the time-frame in which she was currently staying.

"Found it," Robin announced at length. The Titans gathered around the statue of a woman. Naked to the waist, she was the classic interpretation of the goddess Venus. Robin crossed his arms over his chest, and glanced around. "Victor can you deactivate the security here?" He asked softly.

"Of course," Cyborg boasted and pulled out the gadget that resembled a cell-phone. "But someone needs to be a lookout."

"I'll go," Sarasim volunteered.

"Cool," Cyborg grinned. "Okay everyone, don't move for a moment." The Titans shot their robotic friend an odd expression, but consented. Cyborg pushed buttons on the gadget. "Okay, y'all can move now."

"What did you do friend Victor?" Starfire wanted to know.

"I just made their surveillance systems useless," Cyborg replied with a grin. "As far as those cameras are concerned, we're just standing here staring at the statue."

"Good work Victor," Robin commended the cybernetic Titan. "Okay guys, let's try to find the next clue." The Titans, minus Cyborg who had decided to join Sarasim as a lookout, clustered around the statue. For what seemed like an eternity, they stared at the statue without any leads. Beast Boy could feel his eyelids beginning to droop. He forced his eyes open and stared dully at the folds of cloth next to Venus' feet.

"Dude," he suppressed a yawn. "How long are we going to do this?"

"As long as it takes," Robin replied. Beast Boy groaned and went back to staring at Venus' feet. Raven stretched, and then continued to run her fingertips over the statue's smooth surface. The amount of time that they had been here was beginning to wear on her nerves. She was beginning to wonder if the clue had been faulty when her fingers brushed over something. Etchings of sort.

"I think I found something," Raven stated. Starfire, Robin, and Beast Boy clustered around her. She gestured to where she felt the etchings. Starfire ran her fingers along the inscriptions.

"Please tell me it's something useful," Beast Boy groaned.

"The inscription is in Tamaranian," Starfire replied softly.

"I take it that's a good thing," Beast Boy brightened.

"What does it say Starr?" Robin asked.

"It says 'I am both fast, and useful for gathering provisions to be consumed from the deep.'" Starfire translated. "'I was untouchable in my speed by all others in my class. I became famous a decade after the second devastating conflict of humanity had ceased. My reflection can be found on a diminutive piece of currency on which the reflection of a monarch is found.'" There was a moment of silence.

"What?" Beast Boy asked, raising one of his black eyebrows in confusion. Robin beckoned Cyborg over, and the robotic Titan turned the security systems back to normal. Starfire repeated what she had said to him. Cyborg's stomach growled loudly.

"Well I can't think on an empty stomach," the cybernetic Titan replied. "Let's see if this place has a cafeteria." The Titans set off, and finally found a cafeteria. Raven purchased a croissant, and some biscotti, which she passed around to the other Titans. Starfire slathered her biscotti with mustard, and devoured it. Sarasim regarded her biscotti curiously before taking a tentative bite. The Boy Wonder dipped his biscotti into a cup of coffee that he had purchased under the pretences of needing the caffeine to focus. Beast Boy dipped his into a mug of hot chocolate. Raven dipped her own biscotti into a steaming mug of tea that she had also purchased.

"So who do you think this riddle is referring to?" Beast Boy asked at length.

"I'm not so sure that the riddle is referring to a person," Raven replied softly. Beast Boy stared at her.

"Wow," he muttered bitterly. "I guess I am stupid." Raven gently smacked him on the head.

"Stop it," she lectured softly. "The first-person-pronoun makes whatever it is sound like a person. The only reason I don't think it's a person is the line 'useful for gathering provisions to be consumed from the deep.'"

"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed glumly. "That would do it."

"Any ideas Raven?" Robin asked. The telekinetic Titan shook her head. "Well let's break it up. We know that this thing is fast."

"Unbeatable from the sounds of it," Sarasim replied. Robin nodded.

"That line 'useful for gathering provisions to be consumed from the deep' makes me think of sea food," Cyborg stated dreamily.

"Dude," Beast Boy glared at his robotic friend. "Can't you think of anything besides food?"

"Wait," Raven frowned. "I think he might be on to something."

"Really?" Cyborg and Beast Boy asked simultaneously.

"This thing could be used to get fish," Raven answered. "In which case, I think it's safe to say that our thing is a boat." Beast Boy stared at her.

"You're amazing, you know that right?" he asked her, an awed expression on his face. Raven blushed at his praise.

"So, a fast boat?" Robin repeated. Raven nodded. "Hmm."

"I wish I could be more helpful," Sarasim sighed. "But I am 3 000 years out of date."

"Don't worry," Beast Boy grinned at her. "I'm not terribly helpful either, and I live in this time-frame." Sarasim smiled gratefully at him, causing Beast Boy's stunning blue eyes to sparkle.

"All right," Cyborg spoke after letting out a burp that resulted in some dirty looks from other museum-goers. "Anyone know of any fast boats?" Everyone shook his or her heads.

"Let us look at the next part," Starfire suggested. "'I became famous a decade after the second devastating conflict of humanity had ceased.' What does this mean?"

"Second World War," Robin spoke at length.

"So we're looking at the year 1955," Cyborg mused. Robin nodded.

"So this boat became famous for it's speed in 1955?" Beast Boy repeated curiously.

"Apparently," Raven replied with a shrug. "And by famous, that means it probably got into the Hall of Fame. Or at least that would be my guess."

"Still drawing a blank," Beast Boy grinned sheepishly.

"Let us then move on to the next part friends," Starfire suggested. "'My reflection can be found on a diminutive piece of currency on which the reflection of a monarch is found.'"

"I think that means its picture," Sarasim suggested. The Titans nodded in agreement.

"Diminutive piece of currency huh?" Beast Boy mused. "Currency, currency. Oh, duh! Money! Its picture is on a diminutive piece of money!" He grinned widely. "I'm not a complete moron!" He paused. "Although I have no idea what diminutive means."

"It means small," Raven replied.

"Dude, that is so not helpful," Beast Boy scowled. "There's got to be tons of small pieces of money! Although I don't think that it's on any American money."

"Well, a monarch is royalty," Cyborg replied, scratching his head. "So we're looking for a boat on a tiny coin that has a picture of a king or queen on the other side." There was an uncomfortable silence. "Okay y'all, I have absolutely no idea."

"The museum will be closing in ten minutes," the Titans literally jumped three feet into the air as the intercom echoes through the cafeteria. "Will everyone please exit the building through the nearest door? Thank-you for visiting the Louvre."

The Titans walked back to their hostel in silence. All of them trying to figure out the identity of the mysterious boat, and none of them were successful. Unfortunately, only a limited number of Titans could actually take part in the discussion. Starfire, being from Tamaran, knew nothing about anything outside of the United States of America. Sarasim, being 3 000 years out-of-date, of course could not help. Even Raven, being from Azarath, could not be as helpful as she would have preferred to be. Beast Boy tried to help, but Cyborg and Robin wouldn't really let him. Eventually, Beast Boy gave up, and went to walk with Raven, Starfire and Sarasim.

"I hate feeling useless," he muttered.

"Agreed friend Garfield," Starfire murmured. "I wish I new more about Earth than I do. Then I could be of more assistance." Here the lovely alien heaved a sigh.

"Even if you did, I doubt Richard or Vic would let you help," Beast Boy responded bitterly. Starfire, Sarasim, and Raven all looked at him. His fists were slightly clenched, and his blue eyes flashed angrily. "I hate how they think I'm stupid." He exploded at length.

"Garfield," Raven placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You're not stupid."

"Hah," Beast Boy laughed bitterly. "That's priceless coming from you." The words echoed horribly, and Beast Boy couldn't believe what he had just said. Tears had sprung up in the telekinetic Titan's dark eyes. "Raven." He spoke softly, but she turned and began to walk away. Beast Boy sprinted after her. "Raven!" He called, and managed to grab her wrist. She struggled, but he held fast. Gently, he turned her to face him. Tears were streaming down her grey cheeks, and Beast Boy felt a knife drive through his heart at having hurt her. Gently he brushed the tears off of her cheek. "Raven I'm sorry." He murmured. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"I don't blame you," Raven replied bitterly, and she tried to break from his grip. Beast Boy kept his gentle but firm grip on her.

"Raven, please," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. You're the last person I'd want to hurt. I care about you too much." As soon as these words were out of his mouth, Beast Boy's Caucasian cheeks turned red.

"It's okay," Raven smiled sadly. "I understand."

"You're not going to forgive me?" Beast Boy panicked. "Do I have to do the face?"

"No," Raven shook her head. Beast Boy's eyes shoulders sagged. "You don't have to do the face because of course I forgive you." Beast Boy's face immediately lit up.

"Really?" he asked. Raven nodded. "Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "Go Garfield! Raven forgives you! Go Garfield!"

"Don't push it," she smiled wryly. Beast Boy merely grinned in response.

"I really am sorry," he pressed.

"There seems to be an echo happening here," Raven grinned wryly at him. "I already told you, I forgive you."

"I'll apologize again as quickly as a turn on a dime," Beast Boy grinned. "If it means you won't be mad at me." Then his eyes widened. "Dime! That's it!"

"What's it?" Raven asked. Beast Boy ran up to Cyborg and Robin.

"Dude, I think I figured it out," he grinned.

"Really?" Cyborg asked sceptically.

"Look up dime," Beast Boy encouraged.

"You're wrong Gar," Cyborg sighed. "The American dime doesn't have a boat on it."

"Will you look it up anyway?" Beast Boy pleaded. Cyborg sighed, and pushed buttons on what looked like a cell-phone.

"See Gar?" he showed Beast Boy at length. "The American dime doesn't have a boat on it." Beast Boy took the piece of machinery from Cyborg and pressed a button.

"Uh dude?" his black eyebrows raised. "There's a Canadian dime too." Immediately everyone was crowded around Beast Boy. "Sweet!" He exclaimed. "I found it! The boat's name is the Bluenose!" Cyborg took the piece of machinery back from Beast Boy.

"Everything fits," he grinned. "The Bluenose was a racing boat and a fishing schooner. She was unbeatable for seventeen years by other boats. She made it into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 1955. Wow Gar, you figured it out!" Beast Boy grinned widely.

"So where is this Bluenose?" Starfire inquired. Cyborg pushed more buttons.

"Looks like she's currently in Halifax," Cyborg replied. "The capital city of Nova Scotia in Canada."

"Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "I always wanted to go to Canada!"

"As soon as we get back to the Hostel, I'll book us tickets to Halifax," Robin declared.

"Please don't get any 7:00 a.m. flights," Beast Boy pleaded.

"I second that," Raven muttered.

"Sorry guys," Robin didn't sound sorry at all. "But we need to find the next clue as soon as possible. I'm going to get us the earliest flight possible." This statement was met by a series of groans from the rest of the team.

"Look on the bright side y'all," Cyborg attempted to lift the mood. "At least we speak the language."

"This is true friend Victor," Starfire agreed. "I do not think that friend Richard would appreciate it if I had to contact the lips of any more boys." Cyborg chuckled, and Robin scowled. When they arrived back at the Hostel, Robin went off to use the only computer. Cyborg deactivated the cloaking devices on the suitcases.

"Dude," Beast Boy piped up. "I do not want to sleep on the ground again!"

"I second that," Raven replied dryly.

"When Richard comes back we'll draw straws to see who has to sleep on the floor," Cyborg replied.

"No fair!" Beast Boy whined. "I figured out the clue, and I slept on the floor last night! I shouldn't have to take part!"

"Come on Garfield," Raven replied. "It is fair." Grumbling, Beast Boy finally agreed. At length Robin came into the room.

"Okay I got us a flight at 9:00 a.m." he announced. "All the earlier flights were sold out."

"Phew!" Beast Boy was relieved. "This means I can sleep in a little."

"So it would seem," Robin cracked a small smile.

"All right y'all," Cyborg addressed the Titans. "Since Richard's here now, we should draw straws to see who sleeps on the floor tonight."

"I'm going to be totally ticked if I get stuck on the floor again," Beast Boy muttered as he chose a stick from the cybernetic Titan's hand.

"Well Starr," Robin smiled at the lovely alien. "Looks like we're on the floor tonight."

"It looks that way friend Richard," Starfire agreed.

"Sweet," Beast Boy grinned. "I get a bed!" Abruptly his face paled, and a look of horror passed over his now ashen face.

"What is wrong friend Garfield?" Starfire gushed, concerned.

"Gar just realized he's got to share a bed with Raven," Cyborg replied, grinning evilly at the shocked young man. Starfire's eyes widened, and then she giggled. Beast Boy let out a little squeak of terror. Raven sighed, and sat down on the bed.

"Come on Garfield," she patted the mattress. "I'm sure we can handle this like mature adults." She paused. "Well perhaps not, seeing as you're not a mature adult." Beast Boy, who had recently recovered from his initial shock, retaliated to Raven's comment.

"Dude," his blue eyes flashed. "That's not true. I'm totally a mature adult." Cyborg choked back a loud guffaw.

"Prove it," Raven challenged. Beast Boy gulped and shuffled over to the bed. The telekinetic Titan climbed under the sheets and turned her back to him. Hands shaking, Beast Boy climbed in beside her. He could feel his heart pounding madly in his chest. He was terrified, but also, for reasons that he couldn't explain, excited. His excitement confused and terrified Beast Boy even more. As with the previous night, the lights shut off, leaving the Titans in darkness.

"Raven?" Beast Boy was relieved that his voice didn't reflect the emotions that were swimming around in his head. "Don't kill me in your sleep okay?" Raven chuckled from behind him.

"No promises Garfield," she murmured with a yawn. "No promises." This being said, one-by-one the Titans drifted off to sleep. Beast Boy was left staring into the darkness, his heart pounding in his chest. He was surprised that no one else could hear it. At least he hoped that no one else could hear it. From the other bed, he could hear Cyborg snoring slightly, and from the floor he could hear soft breathing from Robin and Starfire.

"Raven?" he whispered.

"Huh," came the sleepy reply behind him.

"Are you still awake?" he asked.

"I am now," she replied reproachfully.

"Oh," Beast Boy laughed nervously. "Sorry."

"If it'll make you feel any better," she yawned. "I'm not going to kill you." Beast Boy brightened at these words.

"Actually, that does help," he replied. "A lot! Thanks!"

"You're welcome," Raven replied with another yawn. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Of course," Beast Boy let out another nervous laugh. "Good night Raven."

"Good night Garfield," came her quiet response. Within moments, her soft breathing told Beast Boy that she was asleep. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on her soft breathing. Finally his exhaustion took over, and Raven's gentle breathing lulled Beast Boy to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4 Formal Titans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Sorry this took so long to post! Okay, for those of you participating in the character poll, which I would encourage everyone to do, any two Titans may be chosen! Again, this offer expires as soon as chapter 5 is posted! As an aside, I am co-authoring a story with the very awesome Thowell3 called ****Teen Titans: Parallel Universe****, so feel free to check it out! In the meantime, enjoy chapter 4! Thanks to Agent of the Devine One for coming up with the clue used in this chapter! Hugs and a cookie! Oh, and this chapter corresponds with the picture on my deviantART site so go check it out! Thanks to my boyfriend for helping me with this chapter.**

Chapter 4 – Formal Titans

"Garfield," Beast Boy slowly became conscious at the sound of a soft, slightly gravely voice.

"Five more minutes Mom," he murmured, and snuggled up against his pillow. Then he noticed that the pillow had a heartbeat. With a feeling of foreboding, Beast Boy slowly opened his eyes. His worst fears were confirmed at the sight of blue fabric. His heart pounding madly, Beast Boy pulled his head away. Raven was staring at him from underneath her hood, not looking thrilled that he had been using her ample curves as a pillow. "I'm sorry Raven!" He exclaimed. "I would never…" He trailed off, too embarrassed to keep going.

"Smooth," Cyborg's voice caused Beast Boy to yelp, and fall backwards off of the bed onto Starfire, who gave a startled yelp in turn.

"Sorry Starr!" Beast Boy jumped to his feet. From the floor, Starfire gazed up at him with a sleepy, confused expression on her lovely face. Beside her, Robin glared slightly at Beast Boy from behind his sunglasses.

"Now that everybody's up," Raven stated dully. "We have a plane to catch."

"I wonder what we'll find in Halifax," Sarasim wondered aloud.

"I've always wanted to go to Canada," Beast Boy grinned. "But I always figured it would be really cold."

"That's a common misconception," Raven rolled her dark eyes at him. Beast Boy shrugged, and grinned widely. Everyone stood. "Wait." Raven put her hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. He gazed at her confusedly. "Medication." She reminded him softly. Beast Boy's shoulders drooped.

"Right," he murmured. He bent down, opened his duffel-bag, and rifled through it until he successfully retrieved his medication. He sat down on the bed, and popped the pill into his mouth. Raven sat down next to him, and gently took his hand in hers, and squeezed it. Beast Boy swallowed down the pill, and tightened his grip on Raven's hand. Raven could feel the pain radiating off of Beast Boy, and her heart ached to see him in such pain. Unable to stand it, she leaned foreword and gently laid her other hand on his cheek. This action surprised Beast Boy, and took his mind off of the pain he was currently feeling. He pressed his cheek against Raven's palm, deriving as much comfort as he could from her gentle touch. Eventually, the pain passed, and Beast Boy relaxed. Without thinking, he pressed his lips tenderly to Raven's palm. His eyes immediately flew open, and he pulled his face away. The telekinetic Titan was staring at him, a shocked expression on her grey face. Beast Boy opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Cyborg cleared his throat loudly.

"If you two lovebirds are finished," he grinned at them. "We can get going." Raven glared at the robotic Titan, and Beast Boy blushed. Unable to make eye-contact with the telekinetic Titan, Beast Boy stood. The Titans double-checked to make sure that they hadn't forgotten anything, and then left. Starfire thanked the woman, and soon they were back at the airport. Unlike their flight to Paris, the flight to Nova Scotia was not delayed. In fact, the Titans found themselves on the plane and in their seats preparing for take-off very quickly. Cyborg was teaching Sarasim how to play tic-tac-toe. Beast Boy leaned back against his seat, and stared up at the air vent.

Raven closed her eyes, and meditated silently. She tried to wrap her mind around what had happened that morning. She still couldn't believe that Beast Boy had been using her soft curves as a pillow. He hadn't known any better, but still, it was embarrassing. She had felt badly for him, especially when Cyborg had rubbed it in. She was still annoyed with the robotic Titan for saying what he had said. She knew that she loved Beast Boy, but she was not about to tell him that to his face. She wondered if she ever would have the courage to tell him how she really felt.

"Raven?" Beast Boy's soft voice broke into her thoughts. She grunted in response. "What are you thinking about?" Raven snorted internally, if only he knew.

"Nothing," she replied in a tone of voice that clearly said 'don't push it.' Beast Boy raised a black eyebrow at her, but said nothing.

"So what do you think Canada will be like?" Beast Boy asked her. Raven shrugged without opening her eyes.

"I've heard the bacon's really good," Cyborg grinned. Beast Boy shuddered. Raven found his hand, and gave it a squeeze, her eyes still closed. She could feel him staring at her, and opened one of her dark eyes.

"What?" she asked, not moving her hand. Beast Boy flushed slightly.

"Nothing," he replied hurriedly, and looked away. Raven noted however, that he made no attempt to move his hand from hers. Raven closed her eyes again, and could see all of her emotions dancing in Nevermore. Even Rage seemed happy, her four red demonic eyes temporarily replaced with two dark normal ones.

"Awe isn't that cute," Cyborg's voice cut into Raven's unusually peaceful state of mind. "They're holding hands." Raven opened her eyes, and glared at the robotic Titan so violently that he squeaked in fright, and shrank away from her.

Before long, the plane had touched down in Nova Scotia, and the Titans were standing in the street looking for a place to stay. Raven reflected with a mixture of amusement and bitterness that this was the second time they had been stranded without a place to stay upon arriving. At least there wasn't the language issue. They wandered the streets, looking for a cheap hotel. Raven noticed a newspaper with a headline that read 'Bluenose Charity Party Tonight!' She went over, picked it up, and stuck it in the pocket of her hoodie.

"Dude, we've been walking for hours," Beast Boy whined. "My feet are killing me."

"Be happy it's just your feet," Raven replied icily. Beast Boy paled slightly, and grinned sheepishly.

"Man, I vote we just stay in the next hotel we find," Cyborg groaned.

"I agree with friend Victor," Starfire gushed. "I do not wish to walk anymore."

"Alright," Robin agreed. "We'll stay at the next hotel we find."

"Gee Starr, why didn't you say this earlier?" Beast Boy grinned slyly. "We could've already been in a hotel by now." This earned him an ugly look from the Boy Wonder. The only one who seemed to be enjoying themselves was Sarasim. The new Titan was absorbing everything around her, her eyes wide with wonder. She was slightly disappointed when they came upon a hotel in which Robin agreed that they would stay. They shuffled into the reception area, and Robin talked to the guy behind the desk. Then he went back to the Titans.

"They only have one room left," he replied. "I've taken it, but I'm thinking some of us may have to sleep on the floor again."

"I do not mind the sleeping on the floor," Starfire replied. This seemed to settle it for the team's leader, and they began to work their way up the staircase.

"Remind me again why we couldn't take the elevator?" Beast Boy whined after about half an hour had been spend trekking up the stairs.

"Because Richard is Richard," Cyborg grumbled. The Boy Wonder scowled at the robotic Titan.

"I can't believe how tall the buildings are!" Sarasim exclaimed. "They are enormous! They seem to reach the sky!"

"Well they are called 'sky scrapers,'" Beast Boy grinned at her. Finally they reached their floor, and had flopped down on the couch in the room. Sarasim frowned.

"I think there's only one bed," she pointed out.

"Allow me," Cyborg grinned, and gestured for her to get off of the couch. Sarasim consented, and Cyborg pulled out the couch so that it was now a pull-out bed.

"Nothing ceases to amaze me," Sarasim shook her head in awe. "So, what do we do now?"

"We have to figure out how to get on the Bluenose without being noticed," Robin replied.

"Dude, do we even know where this boat is?" Beast Boy inquired.

"It's at the Maritime Museum," Raven replied. Everyone turned and looked at her. The telekinetic Titan produced the newspaper, and Robin studied it.

"Nice going Raven," Beast Boy grinned at her.

"One problem man," Cyborg replied. "This is a charity event. Only people who have donated money to the museum are invited, and I don't know if we can donate enough to be invited."

"What are we to do then?" Starfire asked.

"We call in a favour," Robin spoke so quietly that the Titans barely heard him. "Victor can I borrow that machine that looks like a cell-phone?"

"Sure," Cyborg handed the piece of machinery to Robin. "Who…?" But Robin was already dialling.

"Hello, Bruce?" the Boy Wonder turned his back to his team-mates. "It's Richard. I was wondering if you could do me a favour. There's a charity event happening at the Maritime Museum in Nova Scotia that we need to attend. Do you think you could help us out?" He looked down at the paper. "9:00 p.m." He was silent for a moment. "That sounds good." He smiled. "Thanks a lot Bruce. I'll see you later." Then he hung up. "It's all taken care of." He assured the Titans. "Bruce will donate to the charity and bring us as honoured guests."

"Man, how do you know Bruce Wayne?" Cyborg asked. "He's a billionaire!"

"Sorry Victor," Robin grimaced. "I can't tell you that." Cyborg looked hurt, but didn't pursue it. "Bruce will be picking us up in a limo at 8:00 p.m." Robin continued.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "I've always wanted to ride in a limo."

"Now this charity event is formal dress," Robin ignored Beast Boy. "So I suggest we start getting ready. We want to look our best."

- Scene Break -

Beast Boy angrily argued with his neck-tie. Currently, he was losing. No matter what he tried, he could not tie up his neck-tie. He scowled, and looked at himself in the mirror, and did a double-take. His Caucasian face stared back at him with wide blue eyes. He had almost forgotten what he had used to look like. Subconsciously, he reached up to tousle his blond hair just to make sure that it was his own reflection that he was looking at. He was struck by an odd sense of sadness. If he hadn't gotten sick, this is what he would look like. He retreated out of the bathroom, still fumbling with his neck-tie. Robin and Cyborg were already dressed. Cyborg was in a black tuxedo, with a blue dress shirt and bow-tie, and Robin was in a black tuxedo, red dress shirt and bow-tie.

"Hey dudes," Beast Boy piped up. "Either of you know how to tie a neck-tie?"

"Sorry Garfield," Robin grimaced. "This is why I went with a bow-tie."

"Same here," Cyborg replied. "Sorry man."

"Great," Beast Boy groaned. He continued to wrestle with it as the door to the other room opened, and Starfire came out. She was clad in a purple chiffon pleated dress, pink leather Italian-made sandals, and over her shoulder was slung a pleated purple satin clutch.

"Starr, you look," Robin paused, "amazing!"

"Thank-you friend Richard," Starfire gushed. "You look most handsome as well. And this time that manipulative gremplork Kitten will not be there to ruin our evening."

"Hey Starr," Beast Boy piped up. "I don't suppose you know how to defeat a neck-tie do you?"

"Please, what sort of terrible creature is this bow-tie?" Starfire gasped. "I will do battle with it immediately."

"That won't be necessary Starr," Robin assured the lovely alien.

"But," the Tamaranian princess stared confusedly at him. Robin gestured to Beast Boy's neck-tie. "This does not appear to be a very fearsome creature." Starfire mused.

"Uh Starr," Cyborg interjected. "That's because it isn't alive."

"Oh," Starfire's slightly orange cheeks turned red. The attention to the embarrassed extra-terrestrial was taken as the door to the other room opened again, and Sarasim came out. She was dressed in a beige floral knit dress, brown platform sandals, and over her shoulder was slung a bronze pleated clutch.

"Wow," Cyborg's eyes widened. "Sarah you look amazing!"

"Thank-you Victor," the new Titan smiled. "You look good as well." Cyborg grinned. Beast Boy muttered something inaudible and continued to fight with his neck-tie.

"Dude, this is impossible!" he whined. "How am I supposed to impress Bruce Wayne if I can't even do tie up a neck-tie?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his neck-tie became encased in black energy. He watched in amazement as the neck-tie then knotted itself into the perfect Windsor. "Dude!" He exclaimed. "Thanks Raven!" He turned around as he said this, and felt his jaw drop. The telekinetic Titan was dressed in a black caterpillar-rouched dress, and over her shoulder was slung a blue satin clutch.

"Oh Raven," Starfire gushed. "You look most beautiful!" Raven smiled shyly, and approached the Titans. Beast Boy noticed that she was taller than normal, and couldn't help but feel self-conscious about his lack of height. As she drew nearer, Beast Boy noticed that she was wearing black patent-leather high heels.. She looked absolutely stunning, and Beast Boy was at a complete loss for words to describe how breath-taking she looked.

"What's up Garfield," Cyborg asked with a grin. "Cat got your tongue?" Beast Boy's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he looked down at his feet. The robotic Titan grinned at his own joke, and ruffled Beast Boy's blond hair. Robin glanced up at the clock.

"Good timing everyone," he complimented. "Bruce should be pulling up any time now." The phone in the room rang, startling everyone. "That's probably the front desk." Robin explained, and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes. Thank-you, we'll be right there." He hung up. "Our ride is here."

"Dude, can we take the elevator this time?" Beast Boy requested. "We don't want to keep him waiting." Robin agreed, and soon the Titans were standing in the elevator. Cyborg's face was an unattractive shade of green.

"Any of y'all also feeling sick?" he moaned. Starfire nodded, and Sarasim just looked slightly scared. The robotic Titan held his stomach as they piled out into the lobby. An elderly gentleman was standing in the lobby.

"Hello Alfred," Robin greeted the man softly.

"Greetings Richard," the man bowed stiffly. "Master Wayne awaits you in his limousine." The Titans followed their leader outside of the hotel. A sleek black limo awaited them.

"Dude, this is so sweet," Beast Boy gasped excitedly. A harsh look from the Boy Wonder silenced him. Alfred opened one of the doors, and the Titans slid in. The multi-billionaire looked to be in his late-thirties, and in excellent shape. His black hair was slicked back, and his dark eyes regarded the Titans keenly. Robin sat down beside him and remained silent while the rest of the Titans sat down. No one else had the courage to take a seat with Robin and Bruce Wayne, and so the five remaining Titans squished together on the seat opposite to them. No one spoke while Alfred started the car, and an uncomfortable silence remained for a good ten minutes.

"So these are the rest of the Teen Titans," Bruce spoke eventually. Robin nodded "You are doing well for yourself Richard. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank-you," the Boy Wonder murmured.

"You must be Victor Stone," Bruce addressed Cyborg. The robotic Titan seemed surprised that the billionaire knew who he was. He looked to Robin for an explanation, but the Boy Wonder gave him no answers. "And you must be Garfield Mark Logan." The billionaire had moved onto Beast Boy, whose eyes widened. Again, Robin remained unhelpful. Bruce Wayne's keen gaze rested on Raven, and for what seemed like an eternity, he scrutinized her silently. "So this is Raven Roth." He mused aloud. "Interesting." Raven furrowed her eyebrows in anger, but said nothing. Beast Boy placed his hand gently on her shoulder in a soothing manner. Again, Bruce scrutinized the telekinetic Titan. Both Raven, and Beast Boy grew angrier as the scrutiny continued, and Beast Boy was on the verge of exploding, when Bruce finally turned his gaze to Sarasim. "And this is Sarasim, the newest Titan." He stated. Even Robin seemed surprised that Bruce knew this, which intensified the level of shock that the rest of the Titans felt. Finally, the billionaire rested his eyes on Starfire. "You must be Starfire." She nodded. Bruce regarded her intently, almost to the same extent that he had regarded Raven so that the lovely alien was squirming slightly.

"Bruce," there was a hint of anger in the voice of the Boy Wonder. Bruce Wayne released Starfire from his gaze, and turned to look at Robin. "You can't call her that. We're trying to remain as invisible as we can from one of our worst enemies."

"Slade," Bruce stated. Robin's fists clenched slightly, and he nodded stiffly. "So what should I call her?"

"For these circumstances I am Starr Fyre," the alien replied

"And I am Sarah Simm," Sarasim piped up. Bruce nodded. The limo came to a smooth stop, and Alfred opened the door.

"We are here Master Wayne," he announced.

"Thank-you Alfred," Bruce stood up and the Titans all scrambled out after him. Silently they trooped into the museum after him.

"Ah, Mr. Wayne," a man behind the desk of the museum smiled widely. "A pleasure to have you." Bruce nodded slightly. "And these must be your honoured guests." He addressed the Titans.

"Yes," Bruce confirmed. "Richard Grayson, Victor Stone, Garfield Mark Logan, Raven Roth, Sarah Simm, and Starr Fyre. They're joining me from Jump City." The man wrote the names onto the piece of paper.

"Please follow me," he stood, and Bruce and the Titans consented. They ascended onto the Bluenose, and the current guests took a few minutes to quiet down. "If I can have everyone's attention." The man piped up. "We have a very special guest joining us tonight, Bruce Wayne." The applause was deafening. "Mr. Wayne has brought honoured guests with him." The man continued. "May I present Richard Grayson, Victor Stone, Garfield Mark Logan, Raven Roth, Sarah Simm, and Starr Fyre. They've come all the way from Jump City, so make them feel welcomed!" Again the applause was deafening. Bruce went off and joined one of the small groups on the ships' deck. Robin motioned for the Titans to gather.

"Alright," he glanced around. "Let's split up and look for our next clue. Try not to draw too much attention to yourselves."

- Scene Break -

Beast Boy casually leaned against the railing on the ship. He tried not to look like he was trying to study it. He had been slowly making his way around the entire boat, checking the railing for the next clue. So far he had been unsuccessful, and received some odd looks. He had almost made his way back to where he had started from, and was feeling disheartened.

"So you're from Jump City?" Beast Boy glanced up, and what he saw made his blood boil for reasons that he didn't understand. A young man was speaking to Raven. He was looking at her in a way that made Beast Boy furious.

"Yes," was Raven's curt reply.

"That's the city that the Teen Titans live in isn't it?" the young man asked. Raven nodded. "Have you ever seen them?" He asked excitedly.

"I see them all the time," Raven replied dryly, but with a hint of a smirk on her face.

"I think it would be so cool to meet them," Beast Boy couldn't help but smirk at the young man's comment. "So which one's your favourite?" He asked. Raven shrugged. Beast Boy's shoulders sagged slightly. He had hoped that she would say that he was her favourite. "My favourite's Raven." The young man grinned. "She's hot." Raven raised an eyebrow, and Beast Boy felt his fists clench. "Hey, you have the same name as she does!" The young man exclaimed. "What are the odds?" Beast Boy snorted, but thankfully they were far enough away so that they didn't hear him. The music playing over the sound-system changed to a slower tempo. "May I have this dance?" He asked her, causing Beast Boy to clench his fists so tightly that his fingernails bit into his palms.

"I don't dance," Raven replied dully.

"Oh come one," he took her hand. Beast Boy forced back a growl.

"I don't dance," Raven repeated, not moving.

"What, do you have a really over-protective boyfriend or something?" the young man asked.

"No," Raven replied curtly. "I just don't dance. Now if you'll excuse m, I'm going to go join my friend." This being said, Raven turned and headed towards Beast Boy.

"You're choosing him over me?" the young man asked. "He's puny." Beast Boy's fists clenched so tightly that it caused him pain. Raven turned and faced the young man.

"In every way that I can think of," she replied icily. "He dwarfs you." Then she turned her back on the young man and walked up to Beast Boy. The young man stalked away angrily.

"Nice bluff Raven," Beast Boy stated quietly. "I'd have done the same thing if I'd been in that position."

"Who says I was bluffing?" Raven asked. Beast Boy's blue eyes widened. Raven leaned against the railing. "Any luck finding the next clue?" She asked. Beast Boy shook his head.

"Hey Raven," he swallowed nervously. "Would you uh dance with me?"

"Garfield," Raven sighed. "I don't dance."

"Please?" he requested. "Just one dance?"

"Fine," Raven consented with a sigh. "The next song that plays, I'll dance with you." Beast Boy grinned. The current song ended, and Beast Boy took Raven's hand and led her onto the dance floor. The next song also had a slow tempo, and Raven groaned. Beast Boy swallowed and wrapped his arm around her slender waist. Taking her hand with his free one, he began to glide around the dance-floor with her.

Beast Boy could feel his heart pounding in his chest. His body was pressed up against Raven's, her dark eyes boring down into his. He could feel his chest heaving slightly as they glided around the dance-floor together. As they danced, Beast Boy found himself wanting to press his lips against hers. He realized to his embarrassment that he'd have to stand on his tip-toes if he wanted to do this since Raven was temporarily a lot taller than he was. Beast Boy hated being the shortest of the Titans, but he continued to hope that he would get taller.

As he continued to gaze into her dark eyes, Beast Boy lost track of everything else that was going on around him. All that mattered was that he was here with Raven. He noticed that he could feel the bare skin of Raven's back against his fingertips, and gulped. The odd feeling in the pit of his stomach had returned.

"Ahem," the sound of Robin clearing his throat startled Beast Boy back into reality. The Boy Wonder looked furious. Starfire stood next to the Titan's leader, her hands clasped in front of her, and a thrilled expression on her face. "What do you think you're doing?" Robin asked.

"They are dancing friend Richard," Starfire gushed.

"They're supposed to be looking around," Robin growled slightly.

"I am certain that they have been doing the looking," Starfire assured him. Robin simply glared again, and stalked off. Starfire followed him, a concerned expression on her lovely face.

"Dude, what's eating him?" Beast Boy grumbled. Raven shrugged, her black eyebrows furrowed. Beast Boy grinned abruptly. "Dude, he's probably just jealous that we're the ones dancing instead of him and Starr."

"Perhaps," Raven replied, a hint of a smile on her grey lips. There was a moment of silence. "Garfield?"

"Yes Raven?" he couldn't explain it, but Beast Boy could feel his heart beginning to pound even harder in his chest.

"You can let go of me now," she muttered. Beast Boy felt his cheeks begin to burn, and he released the telekinetic Titan.

"Sorry," he murmured, unable to make eye-contact with her.

"Hey Gar, Raven, check it out!" the two Titans turned at the sound of Cyborg's voice. The robotic Titan looked excited.

"What's up Vic?" Beast Boy asked.

"Sarah found what we were looking for!" Cyborg exclaimed. As if on cue, Starfire and Robin came around the corner. Together the Titans trooped after Cyborg to where a proud and excited Sarasim stood.

"It's not a language that I understand," she admitted sheepishly, and then gestured to the mast. Starfire read it, and scratched her head.

"What's it say Starr?" Sarasim asked, eager to see what her clue was.

"It says 'I exist in a ring that you cannot touch,'" Starfire translated. "Named for the shellfish that fill my waters. A barrier that is meant to protect and to house. Many have trod upon me, but I make no cries of protest. White and yellow I shine.'"

"I vote it's referring to Hawaii," Beast Boy grinned.

"Let's get back to our hotel," Robin suggested. "Then we can figure it out." They trooped towards Bruce Wayne. The multi-billionaire was sipping a glass of champagne, surrounded by admirers. "Bruce, I was wondering if we could get going." Robin requested. "We found what we were looking for." The multi-billionaire nodded, and bade farewell to his admirers. Soon the Titans were back inside the limousine.

"So," Beast Boy furrowed his eyebrows. "'I exist in a ring that you cannot touch, named for the shellfish that fill my waters. A barrier that is meant to protect and to house. Many have trod upon me, but I make to cries of protest. White and yellow I shine.'" He paused, not noticing the horrified looks on the faces of the other Titans. "I still say it sounds like Hawaii."

"Oahu Hawaii actually," Robin replied.

"What?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "You mean I'm actually right?"

"The first two lines refer to the coral reef that surrounds Hawaii," Robin explained. "And the last two lines refer to the beach." He stated this as though it was the simplest thing in the world to figure out. "As soon as we get back to the hotel, I'll get us tickets for the earliest flight to Hawaii."

"Already taken care of," Bruce replied. Robin turned and stared at the billionaire. Bruce was typing on a laptop. "I just got you first-class tickets at 8:30 tomorrow morning."

"First class?" Beast Boy's eyes widened. "Dude, somebody pinch me, I have to be dreaming!" Raven hit him in the arm. "Ouch!" Beast Boy exclaimed. He turned and scowled at the telekinetic Titan. "I said pinch, not punch."

"At least you know you aren't dreaming," Raven replied with a shrug.

"We're here Master Wayne," Alfred announced. Within a moment, he had opened the door, and the Titans were climbing out.

"Richard," Bruce spoke just as Robin made move to leave. "I was wondering if I could have a word."

"You guys go on without me," Robin addressed the Titans, who looked at him confusedly, but consented. He closed the door, and looked at Bruce. "What?" He asked, somewhat coldly.

"I understood when you told me you wanted to go off on your own," Bruce replied. "I even respected that you started your own team despite the fact that you had left my side specifically to work alone." He paused. "Your level of attachment to them could easily be used against you Richard." He paused again. "Especially your attachment to Starfire."

"Leave Star out of this," Robin growled. "This is between you and me."

"You know how badly things when love becomes involved," Bruce lectured. "Did I not teach you anything Richard?"

"Stop it!" Robin yelled. "I'm not a child anymore Bruce! You have no right to lecture me anymore! This is why I left in the first place!" The words of the Boy Wonder echoed horribly in the limo. The Robin opened the door, and climbed out.

"Richard," Bruce spoke, but Robin ignored him, and walked into the hotel. Fists clenched he stalked up the stairs and into his room. The other Titans had changed back into their normal civilian clothing and were sitting on the pull-out couch.

"All right y'all," Cyborg cleared his throat. "Now that Richard's here we can draw straws to see who gets stuck on the floor." Robin stalked foreword and drew one of the twigs from Cyborg's massive hand. The rest of the Titans drew, and Cyborg groaned. "Well Sarah, it looks like we've got the floor this time." Sarasim nodded.

"Friend Richard," Starfire beamed at the team's leader. "Might you wish to do the sharing of the bed again with me?" Still seething from the words of Bruce Wayne, Robin merely nodded. Starfire clapped her hands, and began to drag the Boy Wonder into the other room.

"Starr," Robin almost yelped. "I have to change!" Blushing, Starfire released the Boy Wonder, who picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom.

"Looks like we've got the pull-out couch," Raven stated. Beast Boy blushed, and nodded. Raven slid under the covers, and Beast Boy followed suit, still blushing. Cyborg and Sarasim set up the sleeping bags that they had called down to the front desk for while Robin had been talking to Bruce Wayne. The bathroom door opened, and Robin came out, now in his normal civilian clothing. He went into the other room.

"Well," Cyborg cleared his throat. "Good night y'all."

"Yes," Starfire gushed from the other room. "Pleasant dreams friends. I wish for you all to sleep tightly, and do not let the bugs of the bed bite."


	5. Chapter 5 Hawaiian Titans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: For the character poll, please choose two different Titans! Again, this offer expires as soon as chapter 6 is posted! I wonder if anyone will figure out the ice-cream reference. Anyone who does gets a hug and a cookie! I swiped Beast Boy's method of changing topics from my boyfriend.**

Chapter 5 – Hawaiian Titans

"Dude, this is so sweet!" Raven opened one of her eyes at Beast Boy's exclamation. "I can't believe that we get to fly first class!" Raven groaned. "Oh, sorry Raven." Beast Boy had a horrified expression on his face. "I didn't mean to wake you!" Raven sat up and stretched.

"Anyone else awake?" she asked with a yawn.

"Not yet," Beast Boy replied. "I'm the first one up. Weird huh?" Raven gave him an odd look.

"Ok," she raised an eyebrow at him. "Who are you, and what have you done with Garfield?" Beast Boy laughed. Then he reached over and rifled through his bag. The happy expression was immediately wiped from his face as he pulled out his medication. He took out a white pill and popped it into his mouth. Raven moved closer to her team-mate, and gently took his hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Within moments her body felt like it was on fire. Raven gritted her teeth, not letting go of Beast Boy's hand. She was sick of watching him suffer. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain finally ended.

"Raven?" Beast Boy's voice seemed so far away. Weakly, she opened her eyes. He was gazing at her, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you okay?" She nodded weakly. "What did you do? I didn't feel any pain this time." Raven smiled faintly.

"That's because I absorbed it," she whispered.

"Dude, you did what?" Beast Boy asked.

"I absorbed your pain," Raven repeated softly.

"But, why?" Beast Boy inquired.

"I'm just sick of watching you suffer," she replied softly. Beast Boy was shocked. Raven had absorbed that horrible pain so that he wouldn't have to. He was at a complete loss for words. He knew how much pain she had just endured for his sake, and he was shocked. He wondered for only a brief moment if he would ever endure that sort of pain so that she wouldn't have to. Without even thinking about it, Beast Boy knew that if Raven was in pain he would do just about anything to take it away. Even if it meant he had to bear it for her. He found himself wondering if he would have ever done that for Terra. His heart ached slightly at the thought of the blonde. He also felt angry for falling for her deceit again. However, he was still surprised when he came to the conclusion that he would never endure that sort of pain in Terra's stead. After all, he did love her. He wondered what it meant that he was more willing to endure pain for Raven than Terra. He wondered if his feelings for Raven could be deeper than he was aware of. Beast Boy wondered if he cared for Raven as more than just a friend.

"Garfield?" Raven's voice jerked Beast Boy out of his thoughts. He turned and gazed at Raven. The telekinetic Titan was paler than normal.

"Yeah?" he tried to keep is voice level despite the emotions running through his head.

"Are you alright?" he was touched at her concern for him. He could see it in her eyes as well, as well as affection. Unable to come to grips with the emotions flying around inside his mind, he merely nodded. Raven stood, but absorbing Beast Boy's pain had taken more out of her than she had thought, and she pitched foreword. Acting quickly, Beast Boy grabbed Raven around the waist, and pulled her backwards towards him to stop her from falling. Unfortunately her inertia caused both of them to topple backwards onto the couch. The force of Raven's body colliding with his, forced all the air out of Beast Boy's lungs. Finally air flowed into his lungs again, and Beast Boy sat up. Raven was now sitting in his lap, the back of her head resting on his shoulder. His arms were still around her waist, and Raven was making no effort to move them, so Beast Boy continued to hold her. He couldn't explain it, but somehow having her in his arms seemed so right, and Beast Boy found himself not wanting the moment to end.

"Awe, isn't that cute," Cyborg's voice startled the two Titans. The robotic Titan had a huge grin plastered on his face. "They're cuddling. Next thing we know, they'll be admitting their undying love for each other." The words were meant as a joke, but Beast Boy felt his cheeks flush. Raven on the other hand grew angry, and stood up. Unfortunately, the sudden rush of blood from her head and her already weakened state caused her to pitch foreword. Cyborg quickly caught the falling Titan, and placed her back on the couch. Raven moaned. The grin was now gone, a concerned expression in its place. "Are you alright Raven?" He asked.

"Dude, of course she's not alright," Beast Boy retorted. "Do you think we were in that position by choice?" For a moment, Beast Boy thought he saw a hurt expression on Raven's ashen face, but when he double-checked, her face was its usual blank-slate. Beast Boy let his mind wander to the possibility of him and Raven choosing to sit that way. The very idea made his heart pound in his chest.

"What happened man?" Cyborg's voice jerked Beast Boy from his thoughts again.

"You know the pain Garfield experiences every time he takes his medication?" Raven spoke for herself. Cyborg fidgeted, and nodded. "I absorbed it." Cyborg stared. "I was sick of watching him suffer." Cyborg lowered his gaze.

"Shiny new change of topic dudes," Beast Boy spoke up. "What do you think was eating Richard yesterday?"

"There certainly seemed to be some tension between Richard and Bruce Wayne," Sarasim noted.

"Man, I'm still blown away at the fact that Richard knows Bruce Wayne," Cyborg shook his head.

"What's the big deal?" Raven asked. She could tell that Sarasim was thinking the same thing.

"Dude, Bruce Wayne is the richest guy in Gotham City!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"So then shouldn't everyone know him?" Raven asked.

"Not well enough to call in a favour," Cyborg replied. "I wonder." He mused. "Do you think that Bruce Wayne could be Richard's previous employer?"

"Bruce Wayne?" Beast Boy scoffed. "Richard's previous employer?" He snorted. "I don't think so dude, the guy's personality is way too different."

"There is such a thing as acting Garfield," Raven pointed out. Beast Boy flushed.

"And how do you explain Richard knowing him well enough to call in a favour?" Cyborg challenged. Beast Boy shrugged.

"I just don't think he's Richard's previous employer," he insisted.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Sarasim asked Raven.

"No idea," the telekinetic Titan admitted.

"Besides," Beast Boy continued. "If Bruce Wayne was Richard's previous employer, wouldn't we know?"

"We all have our secrets Garfield," the Titans jumped at the sound of the Boy Wonder's voice.

"Morning of goodness to you friends," Starfire gushed from beside the Titan's leader. "Please, what were you discussing?"

"Nothing Starr," Beast Boy swallowed nervously. Even though Robin's eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, he could tell that the Boy Wonder was glaring at him.

"But…" Starfire's face was confused. Robin gently put his hand on her arm.

"I'll tell you later Starr," he promised. She seemed content with this, and they walked over to where the luggage was.

"Oh so you're going to tell her, but not us?" Beast Boy asked angrily. "Just because you love Starr doesn't mean the rest of us should be left out in the dark." Robin stiffened, and the rest of the Titans, excluding Starfire who just looked confused, cringed.

"Garfield," Robin practically growled. "That was out of line."

"Dude," Beast Boy's stunning blue eyes flashed. "It's only out of line because it's you and Starr. If it was me and Raven you wouldn't care." He was too angry to notice the shocked expression on Raven's face. The he realized what he had said, and flushed. "You get the idea." He muttered angrily.

"Garfield, I'm sure Richard has his reasons," Raven tried to keep her voice steady. Beast Boy whirled on her.

"Why do you always stick up for him?" he demanded. There was pain in his eyes. "You always stick up for him! No matter what he does! Why can't you take my side for once? Oh yeah, that's right. You're so obsessed that you won't give the rest of us a chance to voice our opinions."

"Garfield!" Robin barked. "That was out of line! Apologize to Raven! If you're mad at me, fine. But don't take it out her!"

"Whatever dude," Beast Boy growled. He got up, picked up his suitcase, and stood by the door. "So are we going or not?"

- Scene Break -

"Now this is more like it!" Cyborg stretched out his legs in front of him. "Look at all this leg-room! Not that you need it right Gar?" He reached over and ruffled Beast Boy's blonde hair. The latter turned and glared at him.

"Anything else you want to say?" he growled, pain evident in his voice. Cyborg's eyes widened.

"Hey Gar, I was only joking," he defended himself.

"Well it may be funny to you dude," Beast Boy had angry tears in his eyes. "But I'm very well aware that I'm the shortest member on this team. You don't need to keep reminding me of this fact."

"Sorry man," Cyborg lowered his eyes. Beast Boy sighed.

"Sorry Vic," his shoulders were slumped. "First lashing out at Raven, and now you. I'm being a total jerk."

"It's okay Gar," Cyborg smiled. "I understand. I don't know what it's like to be short, and I guess I don't realize that it's really something that bothers you."

"Usually a comment like that would only grate on my nerves," Beast Boy sighed. "I'm over-reacting to everything."

"You feel left out," Cyborg replied with a shrug. "You had a point back there. I'm actually surprised that Raven stood up for Richard."

"She had a point though," Beast Boy sighed. "We all have secrets. There are certainly things that I would be more apt to tell Raven than Richard."

"You really have a thing for Raven don't you?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy looked up, there was a slight smirk on the face of his friend.

"What?" Beast Boy sputtered. "No! I just trust her a lot, and hold a good deal of respect for her! That's all!"

"Uh huh," Cyborg smirked wider. "Admit it Gar, you're totally into her."

"Am not!" Beast Boy retaliated.

"Are too," Cyborg grinned.

"Am not!" Beast Boy could feel his face flushing.

"Whatever man," Cyborg grinned with a shrug. "You're just denying how you feel. Well if you're not going to admit that you're totally into her, you should at least apologize."

"Yeah," Beast Boy nodded.

"Well here's your chance," Cyborg winked. "She's standing right behind you." Beast Boy's eyes widened, and he looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, Raven was standing behind him, a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

"Augh!" Beast Boy yelped. "Raven!" She merely blinked. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Just the part where you where Victor said 'She's standing right behind you,'" Raven replied. Beast Boy breathed a sigh of relief. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Beast Boy grinned nervously. Raven raised one of her slender black eyebrows. "Anyways." Beast Boy gulped. "I wanted to apologize for being a jerk this morning." He diverted his eyes. "Richard was right. I was out of line for saying what I did. I'm sorry." Raven placed her hand on his cheek, causing him to raise his eyes to her face. His stunning blue orbs locked with her dark ones, and for what seemed like an eternity, the two Titans just stood there staring at each other.

"Passengers please take your seats," the intercom startled the two Titans. Raven's cheeks burned red, and she removed her hand from Beast Boy's cheek. Subconsciously, Beast Boy raised his hand and placed it on the spot where Raven's hand had been.

"Gar," Cyborg's voice boomed. "Sit down, we're taking off!" Beast Boy made his way to his seat, but the plane picked up speed unexpectedly, sending him sprawling into Raven's lap.

"Sorry," he gasped. He stood and made his way past her to his seat. Another burst of speed sent him sprawling backwards so that he found himself sitting in her lap again. "Sorry." He squeaked.

"Just sit down already," Raven growled. Beast Boy's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he took his seat next to the telekinetic Titan. He fastened his seatbelt and stared down at his shoes. Time passed, and Beast Boy began to twiddle his thumbs. He glanced over to where Cyborg and Sarasim were thumb-wrestling.

"Hey Raven," he spoke up nervously. "Do you want to thumb-wrestle?"

"What?" Raven turned and stared at him with a dumbfounded expression on her grey face.

"Nothing," Beast Boy went back to staring at his feet. He reflected that it was going to be a long flight.

- Scene Break -

"I don't suppose Bruce Wayne said anything about getting us a hotel huh man?" Cyborg glanced over at Robin. The Boy Wonder shook his head. "Darn." Cyborg's shoulders slumped.

"Will Richard Grayson, Victor Stone, Garfield Mark Logan, Raven Roth, Starr Fyre, and Sarah Simm please report to the main desk," the intercom blared. The Titans looked at each other, and then looked at Beast Boy.

"Why's everyone looking at me?" he demanded. "I didn't do anything yet!"

"Garfield has a point," Raven replied.

"Dude," Beast Boy's stunning blue eyes widened. "Did you just take my side?"

"Don't get used to it," she returned dryly.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "Go Garfield! Raven took your side! Go Garfield!" Raven rolled her eyes, and the Titans made their way to the main desk.

"Hi," Robin addressed the woman behind the counter. "I'm Richard Grayson, and this is…"

"I.D." she spoke in a bored tone.

"Pardon me?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Your I.D." she replied irritably. "Show it to me." Robin dug out his passport and showed it to the woman. The rest of the Titans followed suit.

"There's a limo outside for you," she jerked her head over her shoulder. The Titans looked at each other and exited the airport. Sure enough, there was a limo parked outside the exit. Alfred was standing beside the limo.

"Alfred, what…?" Robin looked utterly shocked.

"Master Wayne instructed that I escort you and your friends to your hotel," Alfred replied stiffly. "He took the liberty of booking you a room at the finest lodgings here in Hawaii."

"Sweet!" Beast Boy grinned. "No sleeping on the floor tonight!"

"Don't jinx it Garfield," Raven warned. Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. When the limo pulled up to the hotel, the Titans simultaneously gasped. It was absolutely beautiful. "Am I dreaming?" Raven asked.

"Nope," Beast Boy grinned. "If you were, I'd either be handsome and smart, or I'd be your personal punching bag." Raven smirked.

"Fair enough," she replied. "Although, I thought dreams were supposed to be about things that were impossible in reality."

"So then I'd be handsome and smart right?" Beast Boy asked. Although he meant it as a joke, there was pain behind his words.

"Did I say that?" Raven challenged.

"Well, no," Beast Boy admitted.

"There you go," Raven smirked. "Actually if anything, your jokes would be funny." Beast Boy chuckled.

"Oh come on Raven," he winked. "You know I'm hilarious."

"I said your jokes weren't funny," Raven replied. "I never said you weren't."

"So, you really do think I'm funny?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Only when you're not trying to be funny," Raven replied.

"Anyways y'all," Cyborg grinned. "Let's get into the hotel and see what kind of room Bruce Wayne was kind enough to reserve for us." The Titans picked up their luggage and trooped into the hotel. Soon they were in the elevator watching the numbers until their floor arrived. They piled out and made their way to their room. Upon opening it, they gasped. The room was huge. There were two smaller rooms off of the main room and a couch.

"Looks like we'll have to draw straws after all," Beast Boy pointed out. "It looks like two of us are going to have to sleep on the pull-out couch."

"I'm down with sleeping on a couch," Cyborg grinned. "It's better than the floor."

"Agreed friend Victor," Starfire gushed. "This is what is called a situation that is won yes?"

"It's a win-win situation Starr," Robin replied with a smile. The lovely alien blushed.

"Alright y'all," Cyborg grinned. "Let's grab our gear and hit the beach!"

"But why must we harm the beach?" Starfire enquired. "It has done nothing wrong."

"It's an expression Starr," Beast Boy explained. "Saying 'let's hit the beach' is the same as saying 'let's go to the beach.'"

"Let's just go already," Raven said.

- Scene Break -

"I'm not coming out," Raven insisted.

"Oh but you must friend!" Starfire gushed.

"No," Raven's voice emanated from the change-room.

"Oh come on Raven," Beast Boy insisted. "The rest of us are in our swimsuits." Sure enough the rest of the Titans were gathered around the change-room in their swimsuits. Starfire was clad in a two-piece purple swimsuit with a wrap-around skirt, Sarasim had on a strapless one-piece tan swimsuit, Cyborg had his hologram set so that he was in a blue Speedo, Robin still had on his sunglasses and was wearing turquoise swim-trunks, and Beast Boy had on his dark-magenta swim-trunks. Each of the Titans had Hawaiian leis around their ankles, wrists and necks. Sarasim and Starfire each had a flower in their long hair. "Come on Raven, Starr even has a flower for your hair." Beast Boy encouraged.

"Oh yeah, that's really going to make me want to come out," Raven replied dryly.

"Oh come on Raven," Beast Boy pleaded. "The flower will look really pretty in your hair."

"No," Raven replied.

"Please come out Raven," Beast Boy begged. "Don't make me come in there and get you!"

"You wouldn't dare," Raven replied.

"Raven I went into your room," Beast Boy replied stubbornly. "What makes you think I won't go in here?" This being said, he took a few tentative steps into the change-room. "Hope all you ladies are decent!" He spoke loudly. "Because I'm coming in to get my friend." He ignored the looks that the women in the change-room gave him as he walked to the only stall door that was closed. "Come on Raven." He addressed the door. "I'm not leaving until you've come out."

"You actually came in here to get me?" Raven's voice sounded shocked.

"Of course," Beast Boy replied. There was silence on the other side of the door.

"Promise you won't laugh?" she asked at length.

"Dude, that would be suicide," Beast Boy replied. Silence. "I'm your friend Raven, of course I won't laugh. Cross my heart and hope to eat meat." There was a sigh from the other side of the door, and then it opened. Beast Boy felt his mouth drop open. Raven was wearing a simple one-piece black swimsuit. It hugged her curves perfectly, flaunting her figure so that Beast Boy couldn't but notice how attractive her figure actually was. He mentally slapped himself. Raven was rubbing her arms self-consciously. "Raven you look great." He assured her. "Come on." He gently took her hand and led her out of the change-room.

"Friend Garfield, you have succeeded in bringing Raven out," Starfire gushed. She then handed the leis to the telekinetic Titan.

"Man, I can't believe you went into the ladies change-room Gar," Cyborg shook his head.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Beast Boy grinned. Cyborg returned the expression, and then his eyes widened.

"Speaking of which!" this being said, he took off.

"Where does he think he's going?" Raven asked.

"When you got to go, you got to go," Beast Boy replied with a shrug. Moments later the robotic Titan returned with a large pimento flavoured ice-cream cone. He was drooling.

"Victor, we're supposed to be looking for clues, not eating ice-cream," Robin lectured. As if on cue, Cyborg stumbled slightly, and the ice-cream fell off of its cone and onto his foot.

"Awe man, look what you made me do!" Cyborg wailed.

"Our next clue is somewhere on this beach," Robin replied. "Fan out, and start looking."

"This could take a while," Raven muttered.

- Scene Break -

"This has got to be like the hundredth-millionth shell we've looked at," Beast Boy groaned. "Please tell me there's something on it."

"Doesn't look like it," Raven replied. Beast Boy groaned loudly.

"We've been at this for hours," he whined. "I'm probably sun-burnt!" Raven rolled her eyes and picked up another shell. Beast Boy spotted a pretty shell, and trotted over to it. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the neck of a bottle buried in the sand, and tripped on it.

"What happened Garfield?" Raven asked.

"Dude, I tripped," Beast Boy retorted. "What's it look like?" Raven raised an eyebrow at him, and then reached down and dusted off more of the bottle.

"It looks like there's a message inside," she noted. "Let's bring it back to the others." Beast Boy nodded, and they made their way back towards the designated meeting spot.

"Did you guys find anything?" Robin asked. Raven handed him the bottle, and in turn he handed it to Starfire. She took out the piece of parchment inside and studied it.

"It says 'I ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty,'" Starfire translated. "'I began my rule at the age of nine and signified the return of my country's original religion. My popularity is due to the fact that my resting place was discovered in almost immaculate condition. My resting place resides in a dell of royalty.'"

"What's a dell?" Beast Boy asked.

"It's a valley," Raven replied.

"Oh," Beat Boy coloured slightly. "So do we have any idea what this one means?"

"King Tutankhamun," Sarasim breathed.

"How do you know King Tut Sarah?" Cyborg asked.

"He was ruling during my time," Sarasim replied. "There were many whispers about him in my village. I never heard any whispers about him being in possession of such a weapon as has been described."

"That's because he wasn't," Robin replied. "The dates don't work at all. The clue about the Bluenose talked about World War Two, which ended in 1945. The weapon must have been smuggled into Tut's tomb after that. This was after the big discovery in 1922, so they must have thought it would go relatively unnoticed if it was concealed enough."

"So the weapon was in the tomb of King Tut?" Cyborg asked.

"It could still be there," Robin replied.

"Sweet," Beast Boy grinned. "So, we're heading to Egypt?"

"First plane we can catch," Robin agreed. Raven took the bottle from Starfire, went over to the ocean, and filled the bottle with water. "Raven, what are you doing?"

"Making sure that Slade can't follow us," Raven replied. She then dumped the bottle unceremoniously into the sand. Then the Titans trooped back up to the hotel.

"Dude, I think I'm sunburnt," Beast Boy whined once they were in their room.

"One way to find out," Raven smirked, and smacked her hand on his back.

"Augh!" Beast Boy screamed.

"You're burnt alright," Raven grinned.

"Ow!" Beast Boy yelped. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" He began to run around in a little circle, yelping intermittently. The room had a bathroom in each of the adjoining rooms, and eventually the Titans were back in their civilian garb.

"Alright y'all," Cyborg announced. "Time to see who has to sleep on the pull-out couch." Everyone picked a stick from the robotic Titan's large hand.

"Oh man," Beast Boy groaned. "First I get burnt, and now I have to sleep on a pull-out couch? No fair."

"At least it isn't the floor," Raven replied. She had drawn a short stick as well. Robin and Starfire went into one of the adjoining rooms, and Cyborg and Sarasim went into the other. Beast Boy muttered as he and Raven pulled out the pull-out couch. He continued to mutter as he slid under the covers. "Are you going to do that all night?" Raven asked irately.

"Maybe," Beast Boy scowled. Raven clobbered him with a pillow. "Ow!" He yelped. "That was my sunburn you hit!"

"This is going to be a long night," Raven sighed.


	6. Chapter 6 The Titans in Egypt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Sorry that this took so long to post. I have no idea how often I'll be able to update. Also, the character poll got stuck, but the good news is that this is the last chapter for the character poll! Two different Titans please. Again, this offer expires as soon as chapter 7 is posted. After this chapter you'll no longer have me down your back about choosing Titans. So make this last poll count!**

Chapter 6 – The Titans in Egypt

Raven slowly became conscious. She went to stretch, and found that she could not move. Something was preventing her movements. She could feel something warm against her back, and realized that she could feel a heart-beat against her shoulder. She glanced down and saw Beast Boy's arm was wrapped around her waist. She blushed at the realization of how close they were. His body was pressed right up against hers so that she could now feel it every time he took a breath. She tried to move again, but Beast Boy held firm. Raven scowled, and considered phasing out of his embrace. She was surprised when she found that she actually didn't want to move. She couldn't explain it, but she felt safe in his embrace. Her love for him burned, and Raven reflected painfully that Beast Boy probably thought that she was Terra. Her heart aching, Raven phased out of his grasp, and onto the floor. Without her body there, Beast Boy's arm fell limply down. He frowned in his sleep, and reached around, as though looking for something.

"Raven?" he murmured in his sleep. The telekinetic Titan's eyes widened. She wondered briefly if she had heard incorrectly. Beast Boy continued searching in his sleep, slowly inching toward the edge of the bed. "Raven?" He repeated. The telekinetic Titan stood rooted to the ground as Beast Boy's sleeping form got closer to her. It was almost as though he knew she was there. His hand stretched off of the mattress and his fingertips brushed the fabric of the hoodie covering her stomach. He inched forward and got a better grip on the fabric. Raven panicked and jerked backwards. The fabric was wrenched from his grasp, and Beast Boy's eyes slowly opened. He saw Raven standing a few paces away staring at him with wide eyes. "Was I talking in my sleep?" He asked. Fatigue was evident in his voice. Raven nodded.

"You kept saying Terra's name," the lie escaped Raven's lips before she could stop it.

"That's weird, "Beast Boy frowned. "I thought I was dreaming about you." Realizing what he had just said, Beast Boy's face turned scarlet. "I uh think I'm going to uh go take my medicine." He stuttered. Then he grabbed the bottle, and took off for the bathroom. Raven blinked, processing what he had just admitted. She didn't know what to think. She knew what she wanted it to mean, but she didn't want to get her hopes up only to be hurt again. "Raven?" She raised her eyes to see Beast Boy standing in front of her, a concerned expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about Malchior," Raven replied softly, and lowered her eyes again. Beast Boy made his way over to her, and gently put his left hand on her shoulder, and tipped up her chin with his right.

"Malchior was a major jerk," he said firmly. "He didn't realize what he was missing out on by being a liar." Raven blinked. Then something caught her attention. Beast Boy was shirtless, and Raven could see the tan that was starting to form on his skin. He looked extremely attractive.

"Am I interrupting something?" Cyborg's voice startled the two Titans. He was grinning widely.

"Yes," Beast Boy scowled.

"No," Raven said at the same time. They looked at each other.

"No," Beast Boy corrected.

"Yes," Raven said at the same time. The two Titans looked at each other again.

"Maybe," they agreed in unison. Cyborg laughed heartily, and slapped Beast Boy on the back. The slender Titan was sent sprawling into Raven, knocking them backwards back onto the couch.

"Oops," Cyborg grinned. "That was a well planned purposeful accident." Grinning, he ran out of the room, while a black encased pillow chased him. There was a loud 'whap' followed by Cyborg letting out a yelp.

"Nice shot," Beast Boy grinned down at Raven. A small smile lit up her grey face. Beast Boy's blue eyes sparkled, and Raven's dark eyes locked with them. Beast Boy lowered his face so that his face was only an inch away from hers. He wanted to badly to kiss those beautiful grey lips. Subconsciously, Beast Boy caressed the side of Raven's face with his hand. She was so beautiful.

"Garfield," Raven's voice was barely above a whisper. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she was terrified he could feel it.

"Yes?" Beast Boy's voice was also soft. Raven wanted so badly to tell him right then and there how much she loved him. She opened her mouth.

"I can't breathe," she lied, turning her face away. Beast Boy realized that he was actually lying on top of her, and his face began to burn.

"Sorry," he muttered, scrambling up off of her. Raven's body felt cold without his body there, and she subconsciously shivered. "You okay?" She glanced up at his question. There was a great deal of concern on his face. She swallowed hard, and managed to nod. He gave her one last concerned look and exited the room. Raven followed him with her eyes, and sighed. Then she stood up and stretched.

"Good morning friend," Starfire greeted Raven cheerfully. Raven grunted in response. "Are you not excited to be visiting Egypt?" Raven had forgotten that Egypt was their destination, and she was curious to see the sights.

"What are we going to do about clothes?" the two girls turned to see Sarasim. "We cannot go to Egypt looking the way we do and not draw lots of attention to ourselves."

"I'm sure they have somewhere that we can buy clothes," Raven replied. Starfire clapped her hands happily.

"Time to go team," Robin came into the room. "We have a plane to catch."

"Man, why do you always have to book us the earliest flights?" Cyborg yawned as he entered the room.

"Radioactive clone," Beast Boy replied as he also entered the room. Raven rolled her eyes, and Beast Boy grinned at her. The Titans gathered their things and trooped out of the room. After having flown first class, flying business seemed cramped. Beast Boy was grumpy because he was not sitting next to Raven. She was in between Sarasim and Starfire and discussing some of the things they wanted to see in Egypt. He wanted so badly to be sitting next to her. To have her next to him so that he could touch her, smell her. She was so beautiful.

"Enjoying the view?" Cyborg's voice startled Beast Boy, and he blushed. "You should tell her how you feel." The cybernetic Titan suggested. Beast Boy considered this.

"There's nothing to tell," he said slowly.

"Oh come on Gar," Cyborg rolled his eyes. "You obviously care a lot about her."

"I don't know how I feel okay!" Beast Boy's eyes flashed. He didn't like being confronted about this. He cared for Raven immensely, but when asked how he felt, he couldn't really find an answer. He frowned and tried to sort out his emotions. He felt very protective of Raven, even though he knew that she could take care of herself. Lurking at the back of his mind was the primal beast that he could only unlock whenever she was in danger. That primal instinct had never existed when Terra had been in danger. Beast Boy tried to sort that out. He had loved Terra, or so he had thought, yet the beast only had appeared when Raven was in danger. That didn't make sense to him.

"Garfield," someone was shaking his arm. He glanced up into Raven's face. "We've landed."

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked, his cheeks reddening.

"I don't think so," Raven replied. "You were just really deep in thought." She hesitated before adding. "Which is unusual for you." Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at her. "Really mature Garfield. Really mature." She muttered before walking away. Beast Boy watched as she walked away. He had never noticed how her hips swayed when she walked. Mentally, he slapped himself. He shouldn't be looking at her that way, after all she was his friend and only his friend. Beast Boy thought about this. He wondered briefly if it could be possible for them to be more than just friends. He was surprised by this chain of thought, and a bit frightened by it. Instead of pursuing the idea, he dropped it, jumped out of his seat, grabbed his luggage, and sprinted to catch up with the others. He spotted them inside a clothing store and went in. He looked around but didn't see the girls anywhere.

"Where are the girls?" he asked.

"In the change-rooms," Cyborg replied. "They already found what they want to wear." Beast Boy looked around.

"Uh Vic," he squeaked. "Why are you wearing a dress?"

"The culture's different here," Cyborg replied. He was dressed in a white robe over a black shirt, turban, and sandals. Beast Boy shifted.

"So I'm going to have to wear a dress?" he asked, his cheeks turning slightly red. Cyborg rolled his eyes.

"It's not a dress Gar," he replied.

"I don't even know which side of the store to look on," Beast Boy muttered. Cyborg led the blushing Titan around the store. Despite his protests, Beast Boy went into the change-room and came out in a black and grey robe over a dark-magenta shirt, grey cap, and dark-magenta sandals. The Titans were all waiting for him. Robin was clad in a turquoise robe over a red shirt, a yellow turban, and black sandals. Sarasim was dressed in a tan dress with gold sequins, a tan veil, and tan and gold shoes. Starfire didn't look that much different. She was wearing a purple top and skirt, but these were lined with gold sequins, and on her feet were little purple and gold sequined shoes. It was Raven that caught his attention. She didn't look too thrilled at what she had to wear, but she looked absolutely stunning in it. Her dress was black with gold sequins. On her head was a blue and gold headband, and on her feet blue and gold shoes. Beast Boy didn't realize his mouth was open until Cyborg elbowed him in the side. "Sorry." He muttered, and looked down at his feet.

Once they had paid, the Titans exited and headed outside. The sun was baking down, and Beast Boy was infinitely grateful for his outfit. It was surprisingly cool. He continued to steal little glances at Raven, but she always seemed to know when he was looking and caught him. He would blush and look away, but he couldn't stop looking at her. At one point, he actually collided into a camel and wound up on the ground, dazed and furious with himself. He looked up to see Raven staring right at him, a smirk on her grey lips.

"I uh meant to do that," he muttered, dusting himself off. Raven chuckled softly. Despite his embarrassment, Beast Boy couldn't help but grin. She offered him a hand, and Beast Boy took it. He stood up and was about to thank Raven when their eyes met. Time seemed to stop. Raven's head was cocked slightly to the side, her dark eyes were filled with various emotions that Beast Boy couldn't decipher. He could feel the urge to kiss her returning. Absentmindedly, he ran his thumb over the knuckles of her hand. He wanted to put his arms around her and feel her warm body pressed against his, to feel her soft curves pressed against his body. Beast Boy flushed, but didn't let go of her hand. It took Robin clearing his throat for the two Titans to divert their attention away from each other.

"We haven't got all day you know," he informed them. Behind him, Cyborg was grinning idiotically at the two Titans. Starfire was standing beside him looking absolutely thrilled.

"Come now Richard," she squeezed Robin's arm. "Perhaps friends Garfield and Raven would like some time of loneliness." Robin turned and gave her a funny look.

"I think she means 'alone time,'" Cyborg piped up.

"That would be nice," Beast Boy murmured. Raven's dark eyes widened and Beast Boy felt his cheeks burn. "I mean..." He trailed off. Not knowing what else to do, he let go of Raven's hand and flailed wildly.

"We need to focus people," Robin glared at the flailing Titan. "How can we get into the tomb and look around without people noticing?"

"I could provide a distraction," Beast Boy volunteered.

"You'd be very good at that," Raven muttered. Beast Boy turned and looked at her.

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" he asked. Raven shrugged.

"Whichever," she replied.

"In that case," Beast Boy grinned widely. "I'll take it as a compliment."

"You are so weird," Raven murmured.

"Would you have me any other way?" Beast Boy asked. Raven regarded him and reflected that she could not love him if he were any other way.

"Of course not," she replied softly.

"Alright then," Robin interrupted. "Let's get to the tomb and get into the group tour. Then Garfield will provide a distraction while we look around inside the tomb."

"Make it good Gar," Cyborg prompted.

"Dude I was born good," Beast Boy replied.

"Well," Raven corrected him.

"Well what?" Beast Boy misunderstood her correction to be a question.

"You were born 'well,'" Raven replied.

"You better believe it," Beast Boy elbowed her gently and grinned.

"Let's go!" Robin bellowed. Beast Boy grinned at Raven again and trotted towards the Titan's leader.

- Scene Break -

Robin walked silently along, not really listening to the tour guide. He was thinking about Bruce's words. Bruce had taught him well, but he had inadvertently driven Robin away by being too controlling. Robin turned his thoughts to Starfire. He remembered how he was so willing to be with her when they had gone to Tokyo. Upon returning home, he had gotten cold feet. He remembered how sad Starfire had been about it. He flinched. He hated hurting her. She meant so much to him. He couldn't understand what he was so afraid of. Robin glanced over at Starfire. She was so beautiful. More than anything he wanted to be with her, but fear prevented him. He tried to sort out what he was so afraid of. Starfire was more than capable of defending herself. Robin could feel his heart aching at the thought of hurting her. He lamented that being fearful of failure was not an excuse to not try.

"What are you thinking about Richard?" Starfire's musical voice distracted the Boy Wonder.

"Tokyo," Robin replied, which was mostly true. Starfire flinched."I'm trying to figure out what happened." He knew that she would know what he was talking about.

"And?" she jumped on this with enthusiasm. Robin shook his head.

"I don't know Starr," he sighed. Starfire sighed sadly and walked away. Angry tears pricked at Robin's eyes. Bruce had said that he shouldn't be with anyone because of the risk of endangerment. Villains could always use loved ones as blackmail. He knew though that Starfire could take care of herself. He considered what he would be willing to do if she were captured. The answer frightened him. He knew that he would stop at nothing to keep her safe. If she were taken he would do anything to get her back. He noticed that everyone had stopped walking and he assumed that they were actually inside the tomb now. He gathered up the Titans and went into an enclave. "Time for your distraction." He murmured.

"I just remembered," Beast Boy hissed. "These clothes won't shift with me."

"Give them to me then," Robin replied. Beast Boy flushed. The girls turned their backs to him, and cheeks still red, Beast Boy stripped down to his boxer shorts. Then he shifted into a huge scorpion and scuttled off. The Titans waited. Soon there was a loud shriek.

"Scorpion!" someone shouted. Screams echoed through the halls.

"Everyone calm down!" the tour-guide attempted, but the screams continued, and grew fainter along with the sound of pattering feet. "Come back!" The tour-guide shouted. A while passed and the scorpion came back into the enclave and shifted back into Beast Boy.

"They'll be gone for a while I think," he assured them. The girls blushed and turned away. Remembering that he was only in his boxer's, Beast Boy flushed a deep red and pulled on his clothes. The Titans began their search. The tomb was full of gem-stones, and other priceless items. The Titans handled these with extreme care. Cyborg scanned the items that he picked up on his arm. The rest of the Titans had to rely on their eyes to look. As time ticked by, Robin began to become irritable.

"It has to be here," he muttered after placing down another gemstone. "Hurry up!" He barked at the Titans. "They'll have noticed that we weren't with them and will be coming back any minute now."

"No problem dude," Beast Boy replied. "I'll just become a scorpion again and chase them out." Robin growled slightly and picked up another gem. This one had engravings on one side. "Starr." He called over the Tamaranian. "Can you read this?" She floated towards him and took the gem in her hands.

"Yes," she replied. "It says 'A gem here and a gem there. In this place is a Gem that is rare. Because of this Gem, many will be sent to the grave. Only in the care of its primal protector will the Gem truly be safe.'" She frowned.

"Maybe it's referring to the Pink Panther," Beast Boy piped up everyone turned and glared at him. "Okay maybe not." He grinned sheepishly.

"This clue is convoluted," Robin scowled.

"English dude?" Beast Boy whined.

"He means it's hard," Raven replied.

"Why couldn't he just say that?" Beast Boy whined.

"Because the rest of us aren't at a grade three level vocabulary," Raven muttered. Beast Boy scowled at her.

"We should probably get out of here now," Sarasim suggested.

"I hate to destroy something so beautiful," Starfire sighed. "But we must prevent Slade from being able to follow us." This being said, she crushed the gem in her hands.

"I'll scout ahead," Beast Boy volunteered. "Make sure no one's coming." He shifted down into his scorpion form again and scuttled off. Raven sighed and picked up his clothes from the floor. They were warm with his body heat, and she recognized his scent. She held the clothes to her chest and hoped that he was alright. Moments later he scuttled back. "There's a bunch of people hanging around the entrance." He reported once he was back in his human form. "I'll go get rid of them."

"Be careful," Raven instructed. Beast Boy winked at her and shifted back down into the scorpion. Once he scuttled off she groaned.

"What is the matter Raven?" Starfire enquired.

"I could've just phased us out of here," Raven replied.

"No," Robin replied. "That would be too obvious. We're still trying to keep as low a profile as possible." This made Raven feel slightly better. Outside, they could hear the shrieks of a bunch of people. There was shouting in Egyptian.

"I think that's our cue," Robin replied. Stealthily, they made their way to the exit. Raven could see Beast Boy in his scorpion form waving his pincers at the guards who were hopping around anxiously. "Let's move." Robin hissed. To aid with their stealth, Beast Boy leapt at one of the guards who in surprise caught him and let out a yelp of surprise. Raven had to stop herself from calling out. She followed the Titans until they were a good distance away from the tomb. She turned around to see the guard throw Beast Boy as far as he could. Raven felt her heart catch in her throat.

"He'll be fine," Cyborg assured her.

"He doesn't even know where to find us," Raven replied.

"Gar's not as dumb as he looks," Cyborg replied. "He'll figure it out." Raven allowed herself to be pulled away by the cybernetic Titan.

"We should head back to the Tower then," Robin replied and began to make his way there.

"What about Garfield?" Raven demanded.

"He'll have to catch up," Robin replied. "I have a flight to book." Raven stared at the Titan's leader, Rage boiling inside of her. She closed her eyes, and tried to calm down. Then she stretched out with her mind trying to find Beast Boy. 'Garfield?' She called out mentally.

'Raven?' he responded.

'Where are you?' she demanded.

'In the desert somewhere,' he replied. 'I have to stay as a scorpion because people will get suspicious of a loose camel.'

'Richard is booking a plane back home,' Raven informed him.

'What about me?' Beast Boy seemed alarmed.

'He says you'll catch up,' Raven replied bitterly.

'That's easy for him to say!' Beast Boy rebuked. 'He's not the one being abandoned in the desert! He's lucky I have a good sense of direction.'

"Raven let's go," Cyborg pulled gently on her elbow. "Richard managed to get us on a flight."

"I was making sure Garfield knew what was going on," Raven replied, her eyes flashing. Cyborg shifted. "What if he runs out of pills?" She demanded.

"Turn into something green I suppose," Cyborg replied. Raven glared at him.

'Raven?' Beast Boy's voice filled her head. 'What's happening?'

'Richard's got a flight that we have to get on,' she replied.

'What about my medication?' he wanted to know.

'Victor has suggested turning into something green,' Raven replied.

'Let me know when you're getting on the plane,' Beast Boy begged.

'I will,' Raven promised. She let Cyborg pull her towards the airport. She hated leaving Beast Boy behind, but of course Robin wouldn't hear anything about waiting for him. She scowled. He probably would wait if it was Starfire and not Beast Boy who was out in the desert. She reflected that Robin would probably make the Titans search until they found Starfire. Raven scowled at the inconsistency. She was only barely aware that now she was in the plane. 'Garfield?' She stretched out with her mind, trying to locate him.

'I'm here Raven,' he replied. 'I figured I might as well stay a green lizard just in case.' Raven's heart went out to him. She still couldn't believe they were leaving him behind. 'Raven?' His voice was desperate. 'Raven, are you still there?'

'I'm still here,' she assured him.

'It's just that it's very lonely out here, and you're the only one I can talk to,' he admitted.

'Well, we're on the plane now,' she informed him.

'You okay?' he asked. 'You seem angry.'

'I was just thinking about how it would be different if it was Starr that was lost in the desert instead of you,' she replied. 'Richard would probably not let us go anywhere until we had found her.'

'It's because he loves her,' Beast Boy pointed out.

'Although he won't admit it,' Raven mused. 'They did kiss in Tokyo, but as soon as we came home, things went back to the way they were before.'

'Yeah,' Beast Boy agreed. 'Remember how you had to agree to go shopping with Starr for a week solid to cheer her up?'

'Don't remind me,' Raven muttered.

'Didn't she make you buy something pink?' Beast Boy enquired. 'I distinctly remember you muttering something about her making you buy something pink.'

'Getting off the subject,' Raven growled. She was certainly not going to tell Beast Boy that Starfire had made her purchase pink dress. She remembered feeling exceptionally guilty when she had returned the dress the week after. She reflected that she had almost put on ten pounds that week because of the amount of ice-cream that she had consumed with her distraught friend. She wondered why Robin didn't just admit to the alien how he felt about her, but she was certainly one to talk. She couldn't bring herself to admit how she felt about Beast Boy either. However, that was different. It was obvious that both Robin and Starfire had feelings for each other, whereas Raven had no way of knowing how Beast Boy felt about her.

'Raven!' Beast Boy's voice jolted her out of her train of thought.

'What?' she demanded. Annoyed, and slightly embarrassed. She hoped that he hadn't heard any of what she had been thinking.

'You keep disappearing,' he replied.

'Sorry,' she sighed. 'I was just thinking.'

'About what?' he wanted to know.

'Why Richard doesn't just tell Starr how he feels,' it was more or less the truth anyway.

'It's hard to tell the person you care about how you feel,' Beast Boy replied. 'He might also be afraid of rejection.'

'Why on earth would he be afraid of that?' Raven scoffed. 'It's obvious that Starr loves him too.'

'I don't know,' Beast Boy chuckled. 'Richard's a bit dense when it comes to Starr.'

'Who knows,' Raven mused. 'Maybe he doesn't want to rub the rest of our noses in his and Starr's relationship.'

'Well Vic and Sarah seem to be becoming a couple too,' Beast Boy replied. 'So I don't think that's the reason.' He was silent for a moment. 'Maybe he doesn't want to rub our noses in it.'

'That's what I just said,' Raven rolled her eyes.

'No, I meant our noses as in yours and mine,' Beast Boy replied. 'We're the only ones on the team left who aren't with someone.' Raven felt a pang in her heart at his words. 'Actually, if the pattern is to be followed, we'd end up together too. You know since Richard's with Starr, and Vic's with Sarah.' There was an awkward silence. 'That's a crazy thought though huh?' He spoke quickly, and Raven felt another pang of heartache.

"Yeah," she sighed aloud softly. "Crazy."

"Raven?" Cyborg's voice jerked Raven out of her thoughts. She looked up at him.

"What?" she demanded.

"We've landed," Cyborg replied. Raven allowed herself to be led by the robotic Titan through the crowds. She couldn't stop thinking about what Beast Boy had said. She wondered if he had been serious. The way he had quickly said how crazy it would be if they were together made her think not. She sighed sadly. After getting the address from Cyborg, she told it to Beast Boy.

'It's going to take me forever to get there,' he whined. 'I'm still in the middle of the desert.' Raven wished that she had encouraging words for him, but she couldn't think of any. She was not really paying attention even when she drew her straw for the night. They had done this because there was still only one bed in the motel, and a couch that despite Cyborg's best efforts would not pull out into a bed. Raven looked down at her straw and saw that it was short. Then she happened to look up at Robin. He had a short straw too.

'Looks like Richard and I are on the floor tonight,' she informed Beast Boy.

'What?' he bellowed. 'You and Richard?'

'It's not like we're sharing a bed Garfield,' Raven assured him.

'I know, but still,' Beast Boy whined. 'You and Richard?'

'Apparently,' Raven replied. Starfire had curled up on the couch, and Cyborg and Sarasim had made themselves comfortable on the bed. Raven lay down on the floor, far away from Robin. She wondered about Beast Boy's reaction. She wondered if it could be possible that he did in fact care about her as more than just a friend. With this on her mind, Raven drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7 Tired Titans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Good news everyone, no more character poll! Yay! Which means I don't have to wait on reviews anymore to write the next chapter. I have a bunch of stories that I'm writing all at the same time, so hopefully I can keep up with this one too. Remember to review anyway! Do take into consideration though that this is my story and I do have creative license. That being said, enjoy!**

Chapter 7 – Tired Titans

Raven awoke to something soft touching her face. She opened one of her dark eyes. There was an orange cat batting at her nose. She wondered how on earth the cat had gotten into the motel. Then she noticed that the window was open. Absentmindedly, she began to stroke the cat. It began to pur contentedly. Raven scratched behind the cat's ears and noticed that the eyes were blue.

"Garfield?" she asked the cat.

'Is it that obvious?' his voice filled her mind. She chuckled softly. The cat form shifted back into Beast Boy's human form. He looked around.

"Wow," he shook his head. "Richard really got you guys a dump to sleep in." Raven turned her head. The carpet was a vomit colour, and the wallpaper was multicoloured and peeling. She turned her attention to Beast Boy who was straddling her and grinning.

"Garfield," she looked up at him. He looked down at her. "Your medicine." The grin disappeared, and Beast Boy stood up. He rifled through his bag, pulled out his medication and popped a pill into his mouth. Raven sat up and put her arms around him. From her position she was only an inch away from his neck. She wanted to badly to kiss that neck. Beast Boy smelled slightly of sweat, but she didn't mind somehow. Gently, he took her hands in his and let out a deep breath.

"I'm really looking forward to this trip being over," he muttered. "That way I won't have to take this stuff anymore." Raven held him tightly. Beast Boy turned his head so that he was looking at her. "Although." He smiled. "I'll miss all these hugs I keep getting." His face was so close to hers that Raven could see some sort of emotion burning in his blue eyes. Beast Boy rested his head against hers and closed his eyes. Raven felt content. She felt happy. She never wanted this moment to end.

"Awe, how sweet," the two Titans jumped at Cyborg's voice. Beast Boy glared at the grinning robotic Titan.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he demanded.

"Because it's funny," Cyborg replied, the grin never leaving his face. Beast Boy glared at his friend.

"Oh good," Robin spoke up. "Garfield's here, now we can try to figure out this last clue."

"Dude," Beast Boy turned on Robin. "How could you just ditch me out in the desert like that? Do you have any idea how hard it was to get here?"

"How did you get here Gar?" Cyborg wanted to know. Raven was curious as well.

"Trade secret," Beast Boy replied sullenly. "The point is I'm here now." Raven raised an eyebrow at him but decided not to push it any further.

"Okay," Sarasim stretched her arms above her head. "What was the clue again?"

"A gem here and a gem there. In this place is a Gem that is rare. Because of this Gem, many will be sent to the grave. Only in the care of its primal protector will the Gem truly be safe." Starfire recited again.

"I still think it's the Pink Panther," Beast Boy piped up.

"I should mention something," Starfire spoke, ignoring the shape-shifter. "The word gem is capitalized after 'A gem here and a gem there.'"

"Why would gem be capitalized?" Cyborg wondered.

"Maybe it's referring to a specific gem," Sarasim pointed out.

"Pink Panther," Beast Boy repeated.

"Probably a famous gem," Robin mused.

"Pink Panther," Beast Boy repeated firmly.

"Wouldn't a famous gem be in a museum?" Raven asked.

"Even if it was, that doesn't help us," Robin frowned. "We don't know which gem we're looking for."

"Pink Panther!" Beast Boy bellowed.

"No!" Robin turned on the shape-shifter.

"Why not?" Beast Boy challenged.

"Because the Pink Panther doesn't exist and we're looking for a real gem," Robin replied heatedly.

"Yeah well..." Beast Boy trailed off. He had a thought. "What if it's not a jewel we're looking for?" He wondered aloud.

"What are you talking about?" Robin looked as though he were ready to blow a blood vessel. "Of course it's a jewel we're looking for!"

"I want to hear Garfield out," Raven spoke up. Robin and Beast Boy both looked at her in surprise. Raven shrugged. "Maybe he's on to something. Stranger things have happened."

"Okay Garfield," Robin spoke through gritted teeth. "What's your idea?"

"Well it kind of reminds me of this," Beast Boy cleared his throat. "The Gem was born of Evil's fire, the Gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, He comes to Sire. The end of all things mortal." The Titans were deadly quiet. Raven was staring at Beast Boy with wide, sad, eyes.

"You'll have to forgive me," Sarasim was the first to speak. "I was not aware of this clue."

"It's not a clue," Beast Boy replied. "It was the Prophecy." Sarasim looked at him confusedly and Beast Boy sighed. "Raven?" He turned to the telekinetic Titan. "Is it okay that I tell Sarah about this? Do you want to leave?"

"It's okay," Raven whispered. She sat down on the bed and listened with a heavy heart as Beast Boy recounted what had happened on her 19th birthday.

"So Raven was the Gem?" Sarasim confirmed.

"Yeah," Beast Boy nodded. "Which made me think that she still is." Raven looked up at him. "This clue is talking about the Gem as well. Maybe it's referring to Raven."

"Okay man," Cyborg edged towards the shape-shifter. "Who are you and what have you done with Garfield?" Beast Boy laughed.

"Don't worry Vic," he grinned. "It's still me."

"Prove it," Cyborg demanded.

"Sheesh," Beast Boy exclaimed. "Can't I have a really good idea every once and a while?"

"It's Garfield," Raven spoke up. "I can tell."

"How can you tell?" Cyborg wanted to know.

"He's got static inside his brain," Raven replied, rolling her eyes. Beast Boy laughed.

"Good one!" he grinned. Then the grin disappeared. "Hey! That wasn't funny! I totally have a brain! I just don't use it very often."

"See," Raven looked at Cyborg. "It's Garfield."

"So if Garfield's right," Cyborg stressed the 'if' as he spoke. "Then we have to go where?"

"Azarath," Raven replied. "My home." She sighed. "I don't know what we'll find there though. Trigon destroyed it before he came to Earth."

"Well we have to try," Robin replied.

"Dude," Beast Boy yawned. "Does anyone know how many time zones we've been over in the last few days?"

"A few," Robin replied.

"A few?" Beast Boy waved his arms around. "A few?"

"I think what Garfield's saying is that we're all severely jet-lagged," Raven replied. We should probably take this opportunity to sleep.

"But Azarath...?" Robin began.

"Will wait," Raven replied.

"Hey," Beast Boy piped up again. "What's the last part of the clue mean?" All the Titans looked at him. "Only in the care of its primal protector will the Gem truly be safe? I mean the rest makes sense, but what do you suppose that means?"

"It doesn't concern the clue," Robin replied.

"Awe," Beast Boy whined. "But now it's going to bug me!"

"There is a problem friends," Starfire replied. "There are not enough beds for us." Beast Boy eyed the couch.

"Does that thing pull out?" he asked.

"Victor was unsuccessful in the pulling out of the couch yesterday," Starfire replied.

"Hmm," Beast Boy frowned. "Maybe there's something caught in one of the hinges." He shifted down into a small insect and crawled inside.

'Anything?' Raven asked him.

'Yeah,' he replied. 'There's something caught here.'

'I need to see,' she informed him. 'I need to see through your eyes.'

'Okay,' Beast Boy consented. Raven closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was staring at a hunk of gum wedged in the hinge.

'Ew,' she focused on the gum, and surrounded it with black energy. Easily, she lifted the gum away, and phased it through the couch. 'Thanks.' She said to Beast Boy before returning to her own body. She bent down and threw out the gum. Beast Boy crawled out of the couch and morphed back into his human form.

"Try now Vic," he jerked his thumb at the couch. Cyborg easily pulled out the couch into a bed.

"Alright y'all," he pulled out the twigs. "Time to draw straws."

"I'm also not going to miss this," Beast Boy muttered to Raven. "I look forward to being home and sleeping in my own bed." Raven nodded. "Oh hey, I just remembered!" The team looked at him, fatigue beginning to register on their young faces. "I heard someone asking the tour guide about us."

"What?" Robin demanded. "Was it Slade?"

"I don't think so," Beast Boy shook his head. "He was too short to be Slade. He was actually around your height Richard."

"So four feet tall," Cyborg grinned at his own joke. Robin glared up at the robotic Titan.

"We've been so careful to watch our tracks," Raven frowned. "How could someone follow us?"

"They always seem to find a way," Starfire replied sadly.

"I guess the six tickets would be a big clue," Robin frowned. "Especially considering the kind of technology that Slade probably has at hand."

"So he is acting on the hunch?" Starfire enquired.

"I guess so," Robin shrugged.

"But it wasn't Slade," Beast Boy repeated.

"Well we certainly have enough enemies," Cyborg replied. "It could be anyone."

"No," Beast Boy shook his head. "I would've recognized Mammoth or Gizmo I think. It would probably have to be someone in a full body costume."

"Perhaps it was the Killer Moth," Starfire suggested. "Getting his revenge for Richard not taking Kitten out to the prom."

"I certainly wouldn't put it past him," Robin agreed.

"What about Kyd Wykkyd?" Raven suggested. The Titans nodded.

"I don't know who any of these people are," Sarasim sighed. Cyborg smacked his head.

"Sorry Sarah!" he exclaimed. He sat down next to her and went through his villain database. While they were doing that, Beast Boy wondered about the clue. He knew Robin wouldn't want to discuss it since it was irrelevant to the whereabouts of the machine. Beast Boy screwed up his face in concentration. 'Only in the care of its primal protector will the Gem truly be safe.' The Gem was Raven, that part he understood. He figured that it had to mean that someone was going to protect Raven. Beast Boy felt a surge of jealousy. He wondered who it would be that protected her. The clue mentioned 'primal protector' but he couldn't figure out what that meant. And then something occurred to him. The beast. It was a primal being. Beast Boy could feel his heart beginning to race. He wondered if the clue meant that he was destined to protect Raven. He dismissed the idea as crazy, but soon it returned again. The clue had to be referring to the beast. There was no other primal protector that he could think of. It fit so perfectly. The beast was Raven's protector, he couldn't argue against that. He looked over at Raven. She was reading one of her books. He wondered how he could protect such a powerful person. He wondered what he was even supposed to protect her from.

"Cat got your tongue Gar?" Cyborg's voice startled the shape-shifter.

"I was thinking," Beast Boy responded.

"A dangerous past-time," Cyborg grinned.

"I know," Beast Boy rolled his eyes at the robotic Titan.

"Seriously though man," Cyborg sat down next to Beast Boy. "What's up?"

"Just thinking about the end of the clue," Beast Boy admitted.

"Richard said to let it drop," Cyborg reminded him.

"Which is why I can't stop thinking about it," Beast Boy retorted with a wide grin.

"Fair enough," Cyborg shrugged, also grinning. "So did you come up with anything?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy mused. "But it kind of blew me away."

"It's you right?" Cyborg enquired. Beast Boy stared at him.

"What?" he stammered. "Why would you think that?"

"The clue mentioned a primal protector," Cyborg replied. "And the first thing that came to mind was the beast. Like it or not Gar, you're destined to be with her."

"But...but..." Beast Boy flailed his arms.

"Sorry man," Cyborg grinned. "Now go confess your undying love for her."

"I hate you so much right now," Beast Boy muttered, his cheeks burning.

"Aha!" Cyborg was triumphant. "You admit it! You do love her!"

"I admit nothing!" Beast Boy spluttered. "Raven and I are friends. That's all!"

"Well right now that's true," Cyborg nodded. "But I'm sure that when you admit to yourself and to her that you love her, things will become more interesting." Beast Boy thought about this. Raven had given him that rose a while ago. He had dried it and hung it from his mirror. The little raven figurine had gone on his desk. She obviously liked him a great deal. He wondered to what extent she cared about him. He considered the possibility that she could love him, and quickly sloughed it off. They were friends and that's all they would ever be. At least that's what he kept telling himself. He still was unsure as to what his feelings for Raven were. He knew he cared for her, but to what extent he was unsure. "Just tell her how you feel Gar." Beast Boy had forgotten that he had been talking to Cyborg.

"I don't know how I feel," Beast Boy sighed. "Just leave it alone Vic."

"Okay Gar," the robotic Titan consented.

"So," Beast Boy decided to change the subject. "Happy that Sarah's here Vic?"

"Awe yeah!" Cyborg's face lit up. "She's so amazing! I sort of hope that she stays with the team." Beast Boy nodded. "If she does, and if Richard admits his feelings for Starr, then we'll be a team of couples. All that's left is for you and Raven to get together." Beast Boy groaned, the conversation had turned back to what he had been trying to get away from.

"Why do you think Richard doesn't want to admit how he feels?" he tried desperately to change the subject.

"Stop changing the subject man!" Cyborg shook his head. "You have to face your feelings for her at some point." He paused. "As for Richard? I honestly don't know. Maybe he thinks Starr hasn't forgiven him for what he did after Tokyo." Cyborg shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Well it was sort of cruel," Beast Boy replied. Cyborg nodded. "The dude's an idiot." Beast Boy concluded. "He has someone who's obviously into him, is gorgeous, powerful, and sweet, and yet doesn't want to admit his feelings for her."

"Yeah," Cyborg looked pointedly down at Beast Boy. "Who could imagine someone doing that?"

"Can we keep the topic on Richard and Starr please," Beast Boy groaned.

"Well they are a cute couple," Cyborg replied. "Although I personally think you and Raven would be a cute couple too!"

"Vic!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Sorry," Cyborg grinned, not looking sorry at all. "But you know opposites attract right?"

"Vic," Beast Boy spoke through clenched teeth. "Just leave it alone." Cyborg sighed.

"What are you afraid of Gar?" he asked.

"I don't want to get hurt again okay?" Beast Boy exploded at the cybernetic Titan. "Are you happy now?"

"Terra hurt you pretty badly huh?" Cyborg asked softly.

"You have no idea dude," Beast Boy replied through gritted teeth. "Even after she betrayed us once to Slade I still opened my heart up to her again, and she crushed it."

"That's not really fair to Raven though Gar," Cyborg pointed out. "She's never betrayed you. In her own way, she's always been there for you."

"You act as if it's so easy," Beast Boy sighed. "You just happened to find someone who liked you for who you are, even besides the fact that you're mostly machine."

"Yeah," Cyborg looked over at Sarasim who was discussing with Starfire the incident with Kitten and Robin and the prom. "I'm lucky." He smiled. Then he looked down at Beast Boy. "If you don't tell her how you feel, someday you're going to regret it."

"How come you don't lecture Richard on why he doesn't admit his feelings to Starr?" Beast Boy challenged him.

"Hmmm," Cyborg mused. "Maybe I should. Thanks Gar, I'm glad we had this little chat."

"Yeah," Beast Boy was relieved to be rid of him. Cyborg approached the Titan's leader.

"Hey Richard," he sat down next to the Boy Wonder. "Want to talk?"

"About what?" Robin regarded the Titan curiously from behind his sunglasses.

"How about girls?" Cyborg grinned.

"Oh," Robin's shoulders slumped. "I kind of thought you wanted to talk about the machine."

"Machines hold no surprises for me," Cyborg replied. "Girls on the other hand I still can't figure out."

"Yeah," Robin agreed, looking at Starfire longingly.

"Man, why don't you tell her how you feel?" Cyborg asked directly.

"I can't," Robin sighed.

"Then you do care about her," Cyborg smirked. "I mean it's totally obvious to everyone, even Sarah, but to hear it from you just makes it that much better." Robin gave him a dark look.

"I love her Victor," Robin sighed heavily. "But I'm not supposed to, Bruce said..."

"Man, who cares about what Bruce said?" Cyborg cut him off. "This is your life. He can't tell you how to live it."

"I could get her into trouble if we were together," Robin replied. "That's why I had to end things when we came home from Tokyo. It's too dangerous for team-mates to be involved."

"Man, the girl can take care of herself," Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Remember the day we all met? She picked up a bus with her foot!" Robin chuckled.

"I would feel terrible if Starr was endangered because of me," his shoulders sagged further. "That's why we can't be together. I could never live with myself if something happened to her because of me."

"Slade's not stupid man," Cyborg pointed out. "He probably knows how you two feel about each other anyway, so it doesn't make a difference whether or not you're together. He can still use the two of you against the other."

"But Bruce said..." Robin tried again.

"What does Bruce know?" Cyborg asked, exasperated.

"A lot more than you think," Robin muttered.

"I mean come on man," Cyborg waved his massive arms around. "It's not like he's Batman or something right?" Robin gave Cyborg a funny look. Cyborg stared at the Boy Wonder. "Oh man!" He exclaimed. "Is he?"

"Is he what?" Robin asked.

"Is Bruce Wayne Batman?" Cyborg asked, his eyes wide. Robin gave him another funny look. "Wow, well I take back that last comment I made then!" Cyborg's human cheek began to turn red. "But Batman or not, he still can't tell you how to live your life."

"Bruce was my father," Robin remarked. "He took me in after my parents died."

"Still doesn't mean he can tell you how to live your life," Cyborg repeated.

"He just wants the best for me I guess," Robin sighed. "But he is very overprotective. That's why I left him in the first place. I wanted to try things on my own. But I think as Robin, I'll always have his shadow looming over me in a bad way."

"Well maybe you shouldn't be Robin anymore," Cyborg suggested.

"Maybe," Robin sighed.

"I mean really," Cyborg elbowed the Boy Wonder. "You and Starr are the perfect couple and you know it."

"I know," Robin replied heavily. "I just don't know Victor."

"Well like I told Gar," Cyborg shrugged. "If you don't tell her how you feel, someday you'll regret it." Robin yawned.

"Wow," the Boy Wonder's voice was sleepy. "Garfield was right. We are jet-lagged."

"Hey!" Cyborg jumped up. "We never drew straws to see who gets the floor!" The Titans all groaned.

"Must we do the drawing of the straws?" Starfire asked, yawning.

"Well there aren't enough beds for all of us," Robin reminded her.

"True," Starfire nodded. The Titans drew their straws. Raven groaned.

"It looks like I'm on the floor again," she sighed.

"Want to draw again?" Cyborg asked.

"You're only saying that because you got a short straw too," Raven quipped. Cyborg grinned sheepishly. Beast Boy sat down on the pull-out couch.

"Wow," he exclaimed. "This couch is lumpy." He turned and grimaced at Robin. "Richard I think we should be gentlemen and let the ladies have the bed." Robin stared at Beast Boy and then at the pull-out.

"That means..." Robin trailed off.

"We have to share the pull-out," Beast Boy looked down at his feet. "Yeah."

"Well," Robin cleared his throat. "We're both mature adults." Beast Boy gave him a funny look. "I'm sure we can handle this." Beast Boy turned to Raven.

"As I said before," he grumbled. "I look forward to sleeping in my own bed." Raven nodded and lay down on the carpet. Cyborg lay down on the floor a few feet away and began to snore. Starfire and Sarasim didn't seem to mind sharing a bed at all and instantly fell asleep. Beast Boy and Robin stared at each other for a while before climbing onto the pull-out. They lay down with their backs to each other, and as far away from the other as possible. Raven felt sorry for Beast Boy, but she felt that Robin deserved it for leaving Beast Boy behind. She closed her eyes, and was beginning to drift off when a loud yelp awoke her. "Yo!" Beast Boy was yelling at Robin. "Get on your side of the pull-out dude!"

"This couch sags in the middle," Robin rebuked. "Can't help it."

"This is going to be a long night," Raven muttered to herself.


	8. Chapter 8 Titans on Azarath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Wonder if anyone caught the silly Disney reference in the last chapter. My boyfriend and I do that all the time. Anyways, next chapter! I'm so happy to be writing this again. Yay! Review please! I'm getting less reviews than I used to. Maybe because I didn't update this for so long. Well, I'm back now, and will try my best to keep this up! My puppy is making a cameo in this chapter!**

Chapter 8 – Titans on Azarath

Raven awoke again to find something soft next to her face. She turned to see the tiny orange cat curled up beside her head. She smiled and ruffled his fur. The tiny cat began to pur. She glanced up at the pull-out and could see why Beast Boy had decided to abandon it. Robin was stretched across the pull-out.

"Garfield?" she poked the cat. The orange kitten opened one of his blue eyes, and stretched. Then he shifted back to his human form.

"Richard kept hogging the bed," Beast Boy jerked his thumb at the Boy Wonder. "He's sound asleep..." He grinned. "Which gives me a fabulous idea!" He morphed back into the kitten, and before Raven could stop him, bounded over to the Boy Wonder and jumped on his head. Robin let out a yelp and threw Beast Boy across the room.

"Garfield!" Raven exclaimed. She ran over to where the kitten had landed. He mewed pathetically up at her. Gingerly Raven picked him up and held him close. "Why'd you do that?" She bellowed at Robin.

"He scared me to death!" Robin replied.

"What's going on?" Cyborg groaned.

"Richard just threw Garfield across the room," Raven glared at the Boy Wonder. Cyborg stood and took a look at the orange kitten.

"My sensors say he's fine Raven," Cyborg assured her. "Just got the wind knocked out of him." Raven felt a wave of relief. Before she could stop herself, Raven pressed her lips to the top of the kitten's head. Realizing what she had just done, she blushed. Cyborg opened his mouth to say something.

"Don't you say a word," Raven growled. Cyborg's eyes widened, and he shut his mouth with a snap. Beast Boy began to pur softly, and Raven absentmindedly scratched behind his ears. She liked having his little warm body against hers.

"Okay team," Robin spoke. "We have a plane to catch."

"Huh?" Raven raised an eyebrow at him. She had been so caught up in her conversation with Beast Boy that she had not followed anything that had happened before he had met up with them in the motel.

"We have a transfer flight back to Jump City," Robin replied. "Unfortunately there were only five tickets."

"Guess I'm going in with the pets," Beast Boy grimaced. Raven shot him a worried glance. "Don't worry Raven, I'll be fine." He didn't sound very confident.

"Why doesn't Garfield take my ticket, and I phase back to the Tower?" she suggested. Robin shook his head.

"I really want us to stay together," he replied.

"And is that why you left Garfield behind in the desert?" Raven challenged, her eyes flashing.

"That was an inconvenience," the Boy Wonder didn't seemed phased by her accusation. Raven glared at him.

"If it had been Starr in the desert you would've waited," she growled.

"Raven, that's enough," Robin replied, although Raven could tell that she'd struck a nerve. She opened her mouth to say something, but Beast Boy beat her to it.

"Really Raven it's okay," he tried to assure her. "I'll be fine. You just have to promise to keep me company okay?" Raven nodded her consent. Soon they were at the airport and Raven held Beast Boy against her chest. They didn't have a cage for him to go in so she approached the desk.

"Hi," she cleared her throat. "Um I need a cage for my kitten." The man behind the counter looked down at Garfield.

"Your name miss?" he asked her.

"Raven Roth," she replied.

"Your kitten's name?" he asked.

"Garfield," she replied.

"Like the comic?" his eyes brightened. Raven nodded. "Cool! I'll get that for you right away." He rooted around behind the desk and brought out a little cage. Raven felt Beast Boy stiffen in her arms.

'I don't like this,' he informed her. Raven held him close. The man behind the counter opened the cage.

"Okay Garfield," she addressed the shape-shifter. "In you go." She heard him groan inside her mind, but entered the cage.

"Well behaved cat!" the man exclaimed. "Most cats need to be forced into these things."

"Garfield's special," Raven meant her words. The kitten looked up at her and began to pur. Raven hated to leave him behind. 'I'll keep talking to you.' She promised. Cyborg led her to her seat again. 'How are you doing?' She wanted to know.

'There's a big German Shepherd that's scaring me,' Beast Boy whined. 'It says on here that her name is Elektra.'

'Don't worry,' Raven tried to assure her friend. 'Her bark is probably worse than her bite.'

'Actually,' Beast Boy mused. 'She's kind of a cute dog. She's got floppy ears.' Raven chuckled softly.

'Looks like we'll be taking off soon,' she mused.

'I'm scared,' Beast Boy admitted. 'What if I don't wake up when we arrive?' Raven felt her heart stop. 'Raven?'

'Yeah?' she asked.

'You still there?' he asked.

'Yeah,' she sighed. 'You'd better wake up when we get home.' She informed him. 'The Tower just won't be the same without you.'

'Yeah,' Beast Boy sighed. 'Vic wouldn't have anyone to play Mega Monkies with.'

'More of us appreciate you than that!' Raven felt a bit insulted that he hadn't considered her.

'True,' Beast Boy replied. 'If I was gone, you'd have no one to insult.' Raven felt as though she'd been slapped. 'Raven?' She didn't want to respond. She could feel tears threatening to roll down her face. 'Raven, I was kidding. That was supposed to be a joke.' Raven snorted. 'I guess it was a pretty lousy joke huh?'

'You think?' Raven grumbled.

'Apparently not,' Beast Boy made fun of himself. Raven chuckled. 'That's what I like to hear. Hey, if I was gone, there would be no one to try and make you smile. There would be no one to make you tea in the morning.' Raven found herself blushing furiously. 'I'd miss that.' He said softly. 'I'd miss the hugs too. I like the hugs.' Raven smiled to herself.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Raven jumped slightly at the voice of the captain. "This is your Captain speaking. Just to let you know we'll be taking off shortly, so make sure your trays are in the upright locked position and your seatbelts are on."

'Looks like we're taking off soon,' Raven informed Beast Boy. She could feel that he was nervous. 'You'll be fine Garfield.' She tried to assure him.

'I hope so,' Garfield muttered.

'Well there are other animals with you right?' Raven inquired.

'Yeah,' he replied.

'Well then it has to be safe,' Raven informed him. 'They wouldn't put animals in there if it wasn't safe.'

'I guess,' Beast Boy muttered. 'It's starting to get really heavy down here.' Raven hadn't even noticed that the plane had taken off. 'Before I black out I should tell you something.'

'What?' Raven held her breath. Beast Boy didn't respond. 'Garfield?' Still no answer. 'Garfield can you hear me?' Still no answer. Raven clenched her fists, wanting the flight to be over so that she could see him again. Feeling her emotions beginning to whirl out of control, Raven tried to meditate, but she couldn't focus. She sighed. The flight seemed to drag by. Raven stared at the back of the seat in front of her, trying not to think of Beast Boy. She wondered what he was going to tell her. She wondered if it would be realistic for him to feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Immediately she dismissed the idea. Beast Boy cared for her as a friend and nothing else. Finally the plane landed. Raven panicked. She had no idea where she was supposed to pick up Beast Boy. She approached the flight attendant, who steered her in the right direction. Sure enough, there was the cage. Raven peered inside. Beast Boy was curled in a little ball. 'Garfield?' She probed his mind.

'Yes?' Beast Boy replied, opening one of his blue eyes.

'Oh thank goodness you're alright,' Raven sighed.

'Since when do you worry about me?' he cocked his head to the side. Raven scowled at him, and he chuckled inside her mind. She carried the cage back to the other Titans. The exited the airport to see Bumble Bee with the T-car. She stepped out.

"Welcome home Sparky!" she gave Cyborg an enthusiastic hug.

"Hey Bee!" Cyborg grinned at her. "Thanks for bringing my baby!"

"No problem!" she smiled. Then she caught sight of Sarasim. "Hey, who's the new Titan?"

"Sorry Bee, we got called away before I could introduce her to anyone," Cyborg smiled sheepishly. "Bee, this is Sarasim. Sarasim, this is Bumble Bee, leader of Titan's East." Sarasim shook Bumble Bee's hand.

"Speaking of which," Bumble Bee lifted off of the ground. "I'm needed back at the tower. Nice meeting you!" She buzzed off. The Titans piled into the car. Raven kept Beast Boy on her lap. She knew that as soon as they were home, Robin would want to go to Azarath. She sighed sadly. She knew for a fact that there was nothing there. Trigon had destroyed it. A dead end. Of course, Robin would insist that they go and make sure. Raven shook her head. She was started out of her revere by the T-car coming to a halt. Everyone piled out, and Raven let Beast Boy out of the cage. Immediately, he resumed his human appearance.

"Question," Beast Boy spoke as soon as he could. "Do we have to wear anything specific to Azarath?" Raven considered.

"There's nothing there," she replied. "No one there. We won't stand out if that's what you're worried about." Beast Boy looked relieved.

"So I can be green without causing suspicion?" he pressed. Raven nodded. "Sweet!" Raven smiled, and the Titans filed into the Tower. Raven got out flasks of sand in preparation. She lit candles in a large circle and hoped it was big enough to fit them all in. There was a knock on the door. "Hey Raven. Can I come in?" She opened the door with a flick of her wrist. She heard footsteps and knew that Beast Boy was standing behind her. "Cool. So what are the candles for?" He wanted to know. Raven turned to speak, but her voice died in her throat. Beast Boy was back in his normal costume, his blue eyes focused on the candles. He shifted uncomfortably, and Raven wondered what he was thinking about. For herself, she was thinking about him, and how much she wanted to press up against him. She began to create a mental image based on seeing him shirtless. There was only one thing wrong. In her image he wasn't himself. He was still Caucasian. Raven sighed. "Raven?" She glanced at him again.

"They're part of the spell to take us to Azarath," Raven replied.

"Cool," Beast Boy nodded. "So what's Azarath like?" Raven felt her heart breaking.

"It's destroyed," she croaked. Beast Boy was at her side in a moment. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her gently.

"Am I interrupting something?" Cyborg's voice didn't even surprise them anymore. Beast Boy simply turned and glared at the robotic Titan. Robin and Starfire were the next to come into Raven's room. Sarasim was last.

"I need everyone to stand in the circle," Raven instructed. They obeyed. "You also have to join hands." She reached out. Beast Boy took her hand, and Raven was grateful for changing back into her costume. That way the hood hid her blush. Starfire took Beast Boy's hand, Robin took Starfire's hand, Sarasim took Robin's hand, and Cyborg took Sarasim's hand. " Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" She chanted. "Carazon Rakashas Endere…Vaserix Endrien Azarath…Azarath, Azarath!" A portal opened above the Titans, and they were pulled up through it. Raven wrapped her friends in black energy to protect them from the fire that rained down on them. They were stopped at another portal. Raven struggled, fighting to break through. "Let us in!" She called, white energy pouring from her gem. There was a flash, and the Titans found themselves on a barren bit of soil. Beast Boy squeezed Raven's hand. "Azarath." She smiled bitterly. "Our last hope." Beast Boy looked around. Everything was in ruins. He winced. He could only guess that Trigon had gotten to this place before he had come to Earth. As the Titans walked through the wreckage, Beast Boy continued to hold Raven's hand. She was trembling slightly. A flash of movement caught his attention.

"What was that?" he asked. Everyone turned to face him. "I just saw something white." Beast Boy frowned, and looked around for what he had seen.

"There's nothing here Garfield," Raven replied softly.

"I know I saw something," Beast Boy replied stubbornly. "It went that way." He pointed off to the left. "I'm going to go check it out." He strode off, the rest of the Titan's in tow. After a while, Beast Boy began to doubt his own senses. He wondered if he had imagined it.

"I told you," Raven said. "There's nothing here. Can we go now?"

"I suppose," Robin sounded extremely disappointed. "If the weapon was on Azarath, it probably got destroyed like everything else." Raven nodded. Beast Boy was looking around when he saw the flash of movement again. He turned and saw a white dove flying away.

"Dudes!" he cried, and began to chase the dove.

"Garfield come back!" Raven chased after him. "Where are you going?" He didn't answer her, just continued to run. Raven scowled but chased after him, the rest of the Titans in pursuit. Beast Boy came to a stop at the ruins of a tower.

"There was a white dove," he explained as the others caught up to him. "So I followed it. It went up there." Raven created a platform of black energy around them and levitated up. At the top of the ruins was a flock of white doves, and in the middle a woman clad in a white hooded robe.

"Arella," Raven called. The woman looked at her. "No, wait! I've come back! Mother, please help me." Beast Boy stared at the woman. Like Raven, she had purple hair, dark eyes, and a red gem in the middle of her forehead.

"You always had a home here, my child," Arella spoke. "But help we could not give."

"It's about a weapon," Raven pressed. "Created by the people of Tamaran and Azarath. I need to know if it was moved before Azarath was destroyed."

"I was given the task of guarding the weapon," Arella replied. She looked at Beast Boy. "The primal protector." Beast Boy looked down at his feet. "You had to protect her, no matter what happened." Beast Boy frowned. He wondered why she was speaking in past tense. "The weapon was not here." She said at length.

"But the clue led us here!" Robin exclaimed. Raven held up a hand.

"Where is it now?" she asked.

"The weapon could not be used," Arella warned.

"Then why is it so dangerous?" Robin demanded. "What aren't you telling us?"

"You were going to destroy it?" Arella asked.

"That is our plan mother," Raven replied. Beast Boy's head was spinning.

"Only a member of the Tamaranian royalty could destroy it," Arella informed them.

"So it's destroyed?" Robin asked.

"You mean Starfire can destroy it?" Raven ignored the blustering Boy Wonder.

"She was the only one who could," Arella nodded. She strode over to Starfire. "You were the only one who could destroy it. You could not fail."

"You speak as if I have already done this," Starfire was anguished. "But we have not found this weapon yet."

"You could not find it until I told you where it was," Arella assured her. "I knew its location. We knew Trigon was coming, so it was moved."

"Where was it moved to?" Raven pressed.

"Home," Arella replied. "That was all I was told. Anyone who knew where it was going was silenced."

"You mean killed?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes widening. "Wow dude, harsh!"

"When it came to us, the second prophecy was written," Arella ignored him. "And it, just like the other, was true." She turned to Beast Boy. "You were the primal protector. Only with you would my daughter be safe." Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably.

"What does it mean?" Raven asked.

"You were to stay with him," Arella replied. "And he would keep you safe."

"Not that," Raven growled. "The weapon went home, what does that mean?"

"I did not know," Arella shook her head. "We were told not to dwell upon its meaning."

"How can so simple a clue be so hard to figure out?" Beast Boy whined.

"It was simple," Arella agreed. "You had figured out more complex clues than this one. You could figure this one out."

"Could it mean home as in the Tower?" Cyborg asked. The idea unnerved him.

"I did not think so," Arella shook her head. "I did not think home referred to yours."

"Then what else could it possibly mean?" Robin exploded.

"Tamaran," Starfire realized.

"Of course!" Arella exclaimed. "The home of the weapon. Where it was made."

"Kind of like the Ring of Power can only be destroyed in Mount Doom where it was made," Beast Boy grinned.

"You've read The Lord of the Rings?" Raven was surprised.

"Watched the movies," Beast Boy replied sheepishly.

"Be careful," Arella warned. "The weapon could not fall into the wrong hands. That would be devastating."

"Slade," Raven frowned. "And Blackfire. Starfire's sister." She seemed to add this latter bit for the sake of her mother.

"Only royalty could activate the weapon," Arella sighed. "I imagined Blackfire would activate the weapon. Starfire had to destroy it."

"How do you destroy it?" Raven asked.

"That I did not know either," Arella sighed. "I was never told how it was activated or deactivated. There was too much fear of what the repercussions would be."

"Thank you mother," Raven whispered.

"You were always welcome my daughter," Arella smiled sadly. "I loved you. I always would." Raven hugged her, and the doves flew up into the sky before disappearing completely.

"That was weird," Beast Boy mused. Then he jumped. Arella was gone. Raven was standing with her arms around herself. "Raven?" He approached her. "Raven, are you okay?" Raven tried to speak, but a sob escaped instead. "Raven, where's Arella?" Beast Boy asked.

"She's dead," Raven whispered. "Trigon killed her when he destroyed Azarath. Not the worst thing he did to her either."

"Raven?" Beast Boy frowned. There was a wild look in Raven's eyes.

"He..." Raven choked. "He took her...against her will. She should hate me."

"It wasn't your fault," Beast Boy replied solemnly. "She loves you."

"I'm a monster," Raven replied. "She was forced to raise a daughter who she knew would one day destroy the world. But she never hated me. Why?"

"You're her daughter," Beast Boy replied, holding her against him. "She's going to love you no matter what." He had to stop himself from adding the words 'and so will I.'


	9. Chapter 9 Tamaranian Titans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: For all the unanswered questions. Here you go.**

Chapter 9 – Tamaranian Titans

The Titans sat in the living room of the Tower. Having returned from the ruins of Azarath, they had remained silent. However, unanswered questions could be felt in the tension in the room. Beast Boy sat next to Raven, shifting his weight uncomfortably. He had some questions he wanted to ask her, but he didn't want to seem insensitive.

"So, uh, Raven," he finally broke the uncomfortable silence. She looked up at him. His heart caught in his throat, and he struggled to get his question out. "Was the reason she talked in the past-tense because..." He didn't have the heart to finish the question.

"Because she's dead," Raven replied dully. "Yes."

"Then how...?" Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably. He knew that he was hurting her with these questions, but they had to be asked.

"I don't know!" Raven's eyes flashed. Instead of being frightened, Beast Boy scooted closer to her and slipped his arm around her shoulders and held her tightly. He could see from her face the war of emotions that were trying to break through, and ever the fighter, Raven was trying everything she could not to show her inner turmoil.

"Just cry Raven," Beast Boy said softly. "You're not going to be judged here." Raven stubbornly shook her head.

"I am not going to cry," she replied bitterly. She closed her eyes, and furrowed her brows. Beast Boy wished that he could do something, anything to take her pain away. He held her close, thinking about what Arella had said. He had to protect Raven. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that fact. "Before Trigon came to Earth." Raven spoke at length. "He destroyed Azarath. I went there for help. My mother told me there was nothing I could do to stop him. Then I saw that Trigon had destroyed Azarath, just as he would Earth. She was dead before I went to her for help." Raven choked slightly, and Beast Boy squeezed her shoulder. "I really don't know how she was there. I don't..." Her body started to shake. "I don't..." Beast Boy could feel his heart breaking with her pain. The only thing he could think of doing, was to pull her into a hug.

"We have a bit of a problem," Robin spoke at length. "How are we going to get to Tamaran without being noticed?" Beast Boy glared at the Boy Wonder.

"I think we could all do with a good night's sleep before we tackle that question," Sarasim responded. Robin didn't like this, but he consented. The Titans split, and went their separate ways to their rooms. Only Beast Boy and Raven were left in the living room.

"That dude's gotta learn about timing," Beast Boy muttered. Raven was silent. "He's so clueless sometimes. I mean really...how can someone so smart be so stupid? He doesn't even recognize the fact that Starfire's into him. He needs a serious wake up call. Or a smack. Maybe a smack would be better. It would certainly be more amusing." He realized he was babbling, but he didn't know what else to do. "I would love to see the look on Richard's face if he was..."

"Shut up!" Raven bellowed, interrupting him. "Just shut up!" Beast Boy was stunned, but obeyed. He sat with her, not speaking. "Sorry Garfield." Raven shuddered at length. "I didn't mean to take this out on you."

"I live to serve," Beast Boy grinned to mask his hurt. "Even if it means I'm your personal punching bag." Raven flinched. Beast Boy pulled her closer to him. "Really Raven, it's okay."

"No it's not," Raven responded dully. "I work so hard to keep my friends from suffering the wrath of my emotions, and I end up taking it out on the one person who's always trying so hard to make me smile."

"No worries Raven," Beast Boy smiled. "I'm tougher than I look." Raven snorted.

"You shouldn't have to be," she replied. "People aren't supposed to hurt the ones they care about."

"It's inevitable," Beast Boy shrugged. "You're more likely to hurt the people you love than the people that you don't know." Raven nodded. "Come on, I'll walk you to your room." Beast Boy stood, and offered a hand to her. Raven took it and stood. She was conscious of his hand in hers as they walked to her room. He was a comfort in her torment. They stopped at her door, and he looked at her with concern. "You know where I am if you need me." Beast Boy raised up her hand and kissed her knuckles. Raven flushed slightly, and managed to nod. She strode into her room, leaving Beast Boy behind her. She wished that he would have stayed with her. She really didn't want to be alone, but she didn't want to be a burden. She lay in bed for what seemed an eternity. The emptiness surrounding her threatening to swallow her. Raven whimpered softly, willing the pain to go away. It was too much. Too much emotion. She couldn't deal with it. She shut her eyes, willing everything to go away. "Raven?" She could barely hear the soft whisper outside of her door. She got up and went to her door. She opened it to see Beast Boy standing in front of her. "You still awake?" He asked.

"Obviously," Raven replied, bitterly.

"Me too," Beast Boy smiled sheepishly. "I guess I got used to sharing a bed." Raven blinked at him. She wondered where this was going.

"I can't sleep either," she admitted softly.

"You want company?" Beast Boy asked. Raven looked at him in the dark.

"Yes," she croaked. "I really don't want to be alone right now." Beast Boy nodded, and entered her room. Raven walked to her bed, and lay down. She could hear Beast Boy shuffling under the covers. Then she could feel his warm body beside hers. She swallowed hard, and rolled onto her side. The emptiness was returning. She could feel her body starting to shake slightly.

"Raven?" she barely felt his hand on her shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut, but all she could see was her dead mother, Azarath in ruins, and Beast Boy's sad face. It was too much. Raven let out a heart-wrenching sob. Her body shuddered with sobs as all her fear, and pain finally exploded out of her. The pain was unbearable. Raven clutched her stomach, sobbing uncontrollably. She felt his hand pressing gently against her shoulder. "Come here." His voice was soft, but firm. Raven rolled over so that she was facing him. Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, and held her tightly against his body. "Shhhhhh." He whispered. "I'm here Raven. You're safe with me." Raven buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed until she was exhausted. "You should sleep." Beast Boy whispered. "You need it."

"Will you stay?" Raven asked, her voice small and vulnerable. Beast Boy held her even closer.

"Of course Raven," he assured her. "I'm not going anywhere." She seemed satisfied by this, and soon had fallen into a deep sleep. Beast Boy smiled at her now peaceful face. He wondered if this was how he was supposed to protect her. From herself. To be there for her when no one else was. He wished that he could talk to Arella alone, but she was dead. He reflected darkly that he and Raven had more in common than she knew. He vowed that someday he would tell her his own dark secrets. He wondered if she would be surprised to know that he had any. Maybe it would help her to open up to him. His keen eyes spotted a tear that was still on Raven's cheek. Careful not to wake her, he brushed the tear away. He smiled into the darkness, and closed his eyes.

- Scene Break -

When Raven awoke, she knew that something wasn't right. Someone was lying beside her. In the dark, she couldn't really see who it was. All she could tell was that he was Caucasian with blonde hair. She gave a yelp and scrambled backwards. He opened his eyes and looked at her confusedly.

"Raven it's me," Raven recognized the voice and relaxed.

"I didn't recognize you," she admitted. "You scared me."

"I can't wait to stop taking this junk medication," Beast Boy muttered. "Richard will probably insist that I look 'normal' when we go to Tamaran." Then he blanched. "Oh no!" Raven cocked her head to the side. "Vic's going to have a hay-day when he sees us coming out of your room together."

"I'll take you back to your room," Raven replied. Beast Boy nodded. For reasons he didn't understand he wanted to stay here with her. Before he could blink, he and Raven were on the floor of his room. Unfortunately, they had been tangled in the sheets of Raven's bed, so the sheets had come as well. This caused them to land in a heap, or more accurately, with Raven sitting squarely on Beast Boy's hips. There was a knock on the door.

"Hey Gar!" Cyborg's voice emanated from the other side. "You in there?"

"Just a sec!" Beast Boy called out, trying to untangle himself and Raven. In a flash Raven was gone, leaving Beast Boy in a cocoon of sheets. Cyborg came in and stared at him. "I'm, uh, having a fight with my sheets." Beast Boy sputtered. Cyborg looked up at Beast Boy's top bunk with the sheets still on it.

"Gar, whose sheets are those?" he asked.

"Mine," Beast Boy insisted.

"They look like Raven's sheets to me," the cybernetic Titan grinned. Beast Boy forced himself to scoff.

"Why on Earth would I have Raven's sheets Vic?" he fought to keep his voice calm. This successfully stumped the robotic Titan.

"I don't know," Cyborg admitted slowly. "But I will find out!" Beast Boy groaned.

"Really Vic," he rolled his eyes. "You need to find a new hobby. Now help me get out of these stupid sheets." Cyborg grinned and grabbed one end of the sheet. He gave it a powerful yank, and the sheets unwound sending Beast Boy rolling across the room. "Thanks, I think." He moaned, and tried to stand. Dizzily, he stumbled towards Cyborg. Cyborg seemed content to watch him stumble down the hallway. Beast Boy glowered at his friend. "Some friend you are." He muttered. He stumbled past Raven's room, and the door opened. Raven came out and regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Gar was stuck in his sheets," Cyborg explained. "So I freed him."

"By sending me rolling across my room," Beast Boy muttered.

"You okay?" Raven asked him.

"Just dizzy," Beast Boy assured her. He took a step and stumbled. Raven rushed over and caught him before he fell over. "Thanks." He mumbled. Raven watched as he lurched away

"You know what's weird?" Cyborg startled her. "The sheets that Gar was tangled in weren't his." Raven tried to remain composed.

"Really?" she worked to keep her voice bored. "Whose were they then?"

"I think they were your sheets," Cyborg was baiting her to say something stupid. Raven forced herself to stare at him icily.

"Why on Earth would Garfield have my sheets?" she tried to sound condescending.

"That's exactly what Gar asked me," Cyborg sounded like he'd just proved something.

"You need to get out more Victor," Raven spoke icily, wiping the grin off of the metallic Titan's half-human face. His massive shoulders slumped, and he sulked away. Raven mentally let out a sigh of relief. She strode into the living room. Robin was discussing something with Starfire. Even with his mask on, Raven could see his internal war. She knew that he loved Starfire, but, like Raven, was afraid to admit that. Raven sighed and sat down on one of the couches. Cyborg was chatting with Sarasim, getting her caught up on some of the centuries that she had missed. Raven could feel the emptiness returning. She was the only one who didn't have someone.

"Why the long face Raven?" Beast Boy was holding out a mug of tea for her. Raven took it and smiled. "Now that is what I like to see." He grinned at her. "You have a beautiful smile Raven." Her smile vanished instantly. Beast Boy sighed, and plopped down beside her.

"Okay team," Robin cleared his throat. "We need to figure out what we're going to do."

"Are we going to take the T-ship?" Cyborg asked, obviously eager to show it off to Sarasim.

"That would be too obvious," Robin shook his head.

"Oh come on Richard!" Cyborg complained. "Where's Slade going to get a spaceship?"

"I know Slade," Robin replied. "He'll find a way." Cyborg scowled.

"Dude, please tell me we don't have to wear Tamaranian clothing," Beast Boy was eyeing Starfire's purple costume, remembering how everyone on Tamaran wore purple.

"We need to blend in," Robin replied.

"I can easily create clothing for you," Starfire gushed excitedly. Beast Boy groaned. In a flash, Starfire was gone.

"Man, if you're going to make us wear purple, at least let us take the T-ship," Cyborg whined.

"Slade will notice that," Robin reminded him.

"I could take us there," Raven offered.

"That would be too obvious," Robin frowned.

"Well those are our only options dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Either we fly there in the T-ship and scream to Slade where we're going," Robin frowned. "Or we just appear on Tamaran."

"Come on Richard," Cyborg whined. "I want to show off the T-ship to Sarah." Robin rubbed his temples.

"Fine," he agreed. "Victor, can you put a cloaking device on the T-ship so that we can avoid detection?"

"Booyah!" Cyborg pumped his fist into the air. "You got it Richard!" He raced off, dragging Sarasim with him.

"I'm going to go check on Starr," Robin informed Beast Boy and Raven.

"Better you than me dude," Beast Boy shuddered. "She'll probably want you to try something on."

"What's your deal?" Robin asked. "Your costume has pink on it."

"It's dark-magenta!" Beast Boy defended.

"It's pink," Robin smirked.

"Is not!" Beast Boy looked at Raven for support.

"Sorry Garfield," she shook her head. "Magenta is part of the pink family."

"But it's just a stripe!" Beast Boy continued. "Not the whole costume." Robin shrugged, and walked off. "I really don't like him sometimes." Beast Boy muttered.

- Scene Break -

Robin knocked on Starfire's door. He could hear something moving inside of her room. He swallowed. For the brave front he had put on in front of Beast Boy, he wasn't crazy about the fact that he would have to wear purple. Although for Starfire he would do anything. He reflected bitterly that he would do anything but admit his love for her. He knocked again.

"One moment more please," Starfire's sweet voice called out. Robin waited. Finally her door opened and Robin peered up at her. "Hello Richard." She gushed. "You are just in time."

"I am?" now Robin was nervous.

"Oh yes!" Starfire clapped her hands. "You can try on what I made for you." She grabbed Robin by the shoulders and pulled him inside her room. Robin stood uncomfortably inside and Starfire swooped over to some sort of odd machine. She flew back to him and held out something purple. "For you." She gushed. "You must try it on." Before Robin could protest, Starfire had pushed him into her closet, and shut the door.

"Starr," Robin shouted. "It's too dark in here, I can't see what I'm doing!" Something heavy and bright fell on his head. "Ow!" He exclaimed. He wondered what this thing on the floor was. Gingerly, he stripped out of his costume, and pulled on what Starfire had made. When he was finished, he glumly stepped out of the closet.

"Oh it looks fabulous on you!" Starfire gushed. "But your mask..."

"I'll wear sunglasses," Robin interrupted. There was a knock on the door, and Robin wished that he could disappear.

"Who is it?" Starfire asked.

"Everyone," came Cyborg's voice.

"Come in!" Starfire gushed. Robin sat down on her bed, and gloomily waited while the other Titans shuffled in.

"I'll just set my holo-rings," Cyborg announced, and immediately his appearance changed. His choice of clothing was the same as Robin's. Sleeveless dark-purple shirt, and long pants, mauve belt, high-necked mauve collar with a purple stone, a mauve arm-band, and mauve fingerless gloves. The only difference was the shoes. Cyborg was in thigh-high boots, and Robin was wearing shorts. "Takes a big man to wear purple." Cyborg grinned at Sarasim.

"I'll go next," Beast Boy sighed. Starfire tossed him his clothes, and he disappeared into the closet. "Dude!" He exclaimed. "This is..." He trailed off, remembering that Starfire had made this. He knew that if he hurt her feelings, Robin would hate him. He took a deep breath and came out. His new costume was also sleeveless, but he had shorts instead of pants. Aside from that, his was the same as Robin's. Sarasim went next. Her costume ended up just being a purple version of what she normally wore. This being a one-strapped dress. Starfire had added the belt. Raven ended up with a purple leotard with mauve wristbands. "Can we go now please?" Beast Boy begged.

"Alright team," Robin was more than happy to oblige. "Let's move out." The purple-clad Titans made their way to the T-ship which had been buffed so much that it was shining. Cyborg had added an extra seat in his hatch for Sarasim, just until he could teach her how to drive it. Everyone climbed into their respective hatches. "Ready to go?"

"Let's go!" Beast Boy encouraged.

"Launch!" Robin ordered. The engines of the T-ship fired, and soon they were off. Starfire took the liberty of guiding them to Tamaran. They chose as remote a location to land as they could.

"We should speak to Galfore," Starfire suggested. "He may know where this horrible weapon is hidden, and he will respect our wish to remain under the cover." Something about this, made Robin turn red.

"Let's do that then," he stammered. "I would prefer to remain under the cover, I mean under cover." Cyborg grinned at him.

"Something on your mind Richard?" he asked him. The Boy Wonder turned scarlet, and shuffled off.

"Richard!" Starfire swooped over to him.

"What do you want?" Robin snapped, then he mentally slapped himself. Starfire looked hurt.

"I only wished to inform you that you are going the wrong way," Starfire replied softly before swooping away.

"Smooth," Cyborg rolled his eyes at Robin. The Boy Wonder didn't respond. He only followed Cyborg as the Titans trailed after Starfire. No one seemed to think much of the Titans as they trooped into the palace. On the throne sat a great monster of a man with wild red hair.

"Hesbad rutha Galfore kank!" Starfire addressed him in Tamaranian. He stood up with enthusiasm, ran over to her, and enveloped her in a hug that would've crushed anyone else.

"Nooba gulshtik Koriand'r sol!" Galfore greeted her. "Why have you returned to us Princess?"

"Hush Galfore!" Starfire insisted. "We must speak in private."

"As you wish," Galfore nodded. The Titans followed the two Tamaranians out of the throne room and into a separate room.

"Galfore," Starfire cleared her throat. "What do you know of an ancient weapon crafted by the people of our world and of Azarath?" Galfore frowned.

"This is no fairy tale that you hear at night Princess," he warned her. "You should not pursue it."

"We are not," Starfire assured him. "Our wish is to destroy it before it gets into the wrong hands." Galfore nodded, seeming relieved at this answer.

"It is said that the energy of the Tamaran royalty alone can activate or deactivate the weapon," he informed them.

"And where can it be found?" Starfire asked.

"That I do not know," Galfore admitted sadly. "It was hidden well so that it could not fall into the wrong hands."

"Where was it made?" Robin asked. "Where on Tamaran was it created?"

"Legend says that it was crafted in the basement of the basement," Galfore whispered. "But the weird thing is that there is no basement to the palace."

"There must be a hidden door," Cyborg mused.

"But where?" Robin demanded.

"Well if I knew that, I'd tell you wouldn't I?" Cyborg replied. Robin glared at him.

"There's an easy way to find out," Raven replied.

"How do you figure that Raven?" Robin demanded.

"Hey dude," Beast Boy frowned. "Back off. What's up Raven?" Raven smiled at him and disappeared into the floor. "Oh." He blinked. "Of course." The Titans waited. Robin started pacing, which made Beast Boy uncomfortable.

'Garfield?' Raven's voice filled his mind, making Beast Boy jump.

"What's going on?" Robin barked.

"It's Raven," Beast Boy replied. "She just contacted me."

"And?" Robin demanded.

"Chill dude," Beast Boy frowned. "I don't know yet." Robin went back to pacing. 'What's up Raven?'

'Tell everyone to get out of the room,' Raven informed him.

'But...' Beast Boy began.

'Just trust me,' Raven interrupted.

"She wants everyone out of the room," Beast Boy repeated Raven's instructions.

"Why?" Robin enquired.

"Dude," Beast Boy waved his arms. "Chill out! She didn't tell me!"

"Fine," Robin scowled. "Everyone out of the room." The Titans shuffled out of the room.

'Okay Raven,' Beast Boy hoped she was listening. 'We're out. What did you...' He was interrupted by the floor blowing out and Raven rising out of the new hole.

"Down there," she said simply. "I found it."

"Great work Raven," Robin nodded. "Let's go team."

"Hey Raven," Beast Boy piped up. "Make an elevator." Raven gave him an odd look, but obeyed. The Titans that couldn't fly, piled onto the platform of black energy, and she took them down.

"Starr, can you give us some light?" Robin asked. Starfire consented, and the tunnel that they were descending into lit up. Cyborg peered over the edge of the platform.

"How far down is it?" he asked.

"One way to find out," Beast Boy grinned. He snorted and spit. The Titans waited. After a while they heard a quiet 'splat' of the spit hitting the floor.

"That's far," Cyborg remarked. The Titans continued to descend at a fair rate. After a while they finally came to the bottom.

"This way," Raven instructed. Starfire walked up with her, providing light for the others. Finally the green hue from her hand illuminated a large rectangular box.

"This is it," Robin breathed.

"That doesn't look like a weapon to me," Beast Boy frowned.

"That's because it's not," Raven replied. "The weapon's inside."

"Well then, let's get it out!" Cyborg exclaimed. He pounded one of his fists against the box. The box shattered revealing a large container made of stone. There were two cruel looking arms protruding from the canister. One was black, and the other was green.

"This is it," Galfore breathed. "The ancient destroyer of worlds!"

"Good work," everyone turned to see Slade leaning against the wall, Blackfire hovering beside him, a smirk on her face. "I couldn't have done it without you, really."


	10. Chapter 10 Showdown

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Urk. Finally. It's only been how long since I've written anything? For the corresponding picture see my deviantART profile.**

Chapter 10 – Showdown

"Slade!" Robin seemed both confused and furious to see the villain leaning nonchalantly against the wall. "How did you get here?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Slade replied evasively.

"Dude," Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "That's why he asked you." Slade ignored the shape-shifter.

"I really must say, I'm quite impressed by how well you did figuring it all out," the Titans glowered at him.

"Save your praise for someone who cares Slade," Robin growled. "Now tell me, how did you get here?"

"It just eats away at you doesn't it?" Slade leaned down and looked Robin dead in the eyes. "That despite all your efforts, I still got here." He leaned back. "Lucky for me I had some help along the way." He looked at Starfire. "And not just from your charming sister either."

"The mystery dude," Beast Boy breathed. "The one I saw in Egypt."

"Who's helping you Slade?" Robin demanded.

"Really Robin," Slade scoffed. "A smart boy like you should have figured it out be now."

"I don't think he's as smart as you think," the Titans turned at the familiar voice, and a figure in black stepped out of the shadows. "Nice to see you again kid." He gestured to Robin.

"Red X?" Robin exclaimed. "You're helping Slade?"

"Not my first choice kid," Red X shrugged. "But beggars can't be choosers can they?"

"I offered to reward Red X handsomely for his help," Slade explained.

"You've sunk to a whole new low Red X," Robin hissed.

"Lighten up kid," the villain replied. "It's not like I'm his apprentice." Robin winced, he knew those words were meant for him.

"Dude," Beast Boy waved his hand in front of Robin's face. "Sorry to interrupt your trip down memory lane, but I think we need a plan."

"Beast Boy's right," Raven replied, not wanting to address him by name in front of Slade. "We'll need to split up."

"Good idea," Robin nodded. "Starfire and Sarasim, you take Blackfire. Beast Boy and Raven, Red X. Cyborg and I will take Slade."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Cyborg grinned, his holograph disappearing.

"Teen Titans go!" Robin bellowed. He and Cyborg leaped at Slade, while Starfire flew at her sister. Beast Boy morphed into a tiger and pounced at Red X.

"What about me, Princess?" Galfore asked. "What shall I do."

"Protect the weapon!" Starfire replied, pelting Blackfire with starbolts. Sarasim found a piece of metal from the rubble, and whacked Blackfire with it.

"You are no Teen Titan," Blackfire scoffed.

"I am," Sarasim replied. "And I am also a warrior." She charged at the surprised villain and hit her hard. Blackfire was dazed by the blow. Red X in the meantime was jumping nimbly away from Beast Boy's paws, and Raven's projectiles.

"Teaming up with Slade wasn't a great idea Red X," Raven growled at the villain.

"It seems to be working out so far," Red X replied, phasing away from a pouncing Beast Boy.

"You've helped us before," Raven reminded him. "You're a crook. You work for Slade and word gets around."

"Maybe I'd like to be taken more seriously," Red X replied.

"I don't foresee that working well for you," Raven continued.

"Why not?" he asked. "We're winning."

"Do you really think Slade will just let you go if you defeat us?" Raven asked.

"He said he would reward me for my services," Red X responded.

"He'll make you his apprentice," Raven said. "That's what he does. Even if it's against your will." Red X stopped moving. Beast Boy took advantage of the fact, and struck the villain on the head with his massive paw. Red X went flying, hit a wall, and collapsed. "That wasn't very sporting." Raven raised an eyebrow at the tiger, who grinned at her. They went to help Robin and Cyborg against Slade.

"You got no Slade-bots to hide behind this time Slade," Cyborg was saying. "It's just you, and it's just us."

"Indeed," Slade mused. "Two against one don't seem like fair odds wouldn't you say?"

"Make that four," Raven droned.

"Now really Titans," Slade sighed. "This is truly unfair. Four of you, and only one of me?"

"Deal with it," Robin growled.

"I intend to dear boy," Slade replied, flipping backwards. "Blackfire now!" Everyone turned to see the Tamaranian fly towards the weapon.

"Stop her!" Robin bellowed. Starfire and Sarasim gave chase.

"Interesting choice of a new member Titans," Slade mused, and he threw a ball at Sarasim which exploded and sent her flying.

"Sarasim!" Cyborg cried, he ran over and crouched by her side.

"Really Titans," Slade sounded amused. "You really should learn to focus." Then he threw another ball at Cyborg. This one generated electricity when it came into contact with the rovotic Titan, and he collapsed. Starfire was still chasing her sister. The two of them were pelting each other with starbolts.

"Raven, get to the machine," Robin ordered. "See if there's anything written on it. Instructions, something!" Raven swooped over to the machine and began looking it over with Galfore.

"I see something," he announced. "A symbol, but it is not Tamaranian. I cannot read it." Raven hovered beside him staring at the writing, her eyes wide with horror.

"What does it say?" Robin demanded.

"It's The Mark of Scath," Raven breathed.

"Why would the machine have Trigon's mark on it?" Robin asked. Even Slade seemed surprised by this news. In the background, Starfire and Blackfire were still battling.

"Because Trigon was the destroyer of worlds," Raven replied. "This mark is a warning of what this machine is capable of." While this was going on, Beast Boy had been sitting down. He was still in his tiger form. He wondered why no one was fighting Slade. Sarasim and Cyborg were unconscious, and Starfire was busy. He coiled his muscles, ready to pounce. With a roar, he sprang at Slade, who brought out his bow-staff and smacked it down on the shape-shifter's head. Beast Boy fell with a thud to the floor. "Beast Boy!" Raven cried. She raised a hand and pinned Slade to the wall with black energy.

"Reflex my dear," Slade informed her, but Raven wasn't hearing it. She smashed him against the wall. Just then, Starfire came crashing down from where she had been fighting her sister.

"Starfire!" Robin ran to her side. Then he looked up to see Blackfire heading towards the weapon. "Galfore, stop her!" The gigantic Tamaranian stepped in front of the weapon.

"I have a right to it you know," Blackfire sneered. "I am an heir to the throne."

"I cannot let you pass," Galfore replied.

"Very well," Blackfire smirked, and hit him with her eye-beams. Galfore grunted, and doubled over. Blackfire laughed, and swooped by him, into the box that held the machine. The box fell away revealing a see-through compartment. On one side were two focusing gems, green and black. "Let's start this baby up." Blackfire grinned. She swooped inside. For a moment nothing happened, then a scanning laser went over the Tamaranian. "So what planet should I destroy first?" Blackfire asked.

"Interesting question my dear," Slade mused. Red X sat up.

"You never said we were going to blow up any planets," he said. "You said we'd just threaten for ransom money."

"Of course dear boy," Slade replied. "However once we have the money, we need to make an example. Show them we're serious." Red X shook his head. Blackfire shot her eye-beams inside the machine. The machine made a whirring noise, and the gems began to glow. Blackfire began to laugh.

"Sister?" Starfire mumbled, opening her eyes. Robin helped her sit. "Sister!" She cried. At this time, Beast Boy also sat up, rubbing his head.

"Dude," he winced, then he saw what was happening. He waved his arms frantically. "Dudes!" He ran over to Cyborg. "Cy! Cy, wake up!"

"What B.B.?" Cyborg opened his human eye. "What's going..." Then he saw what was happening. "Oh man!"

"What do we do?" Sarasim asked, holding her head.

"I don't know!" Cyborg wailed.

"We need to get her out of there," Raven surmised. "Then we have to shut it down."

"Agreed," Starfire nodded. "I can turn the machine off once Blackfire has been removed."

"Teen Titans go!" Robin ordered. They ran towards the machine, but Slade landed directly in their path.

"Aren't you forgetting something Titans?" he asked. "You still have me to contend with. The Titans began fighting with Slade. On the outside, Red X watched. He could see a beam beginning to form between the two gems. Robin was thrown back by Slade. He landed next to Red X.

"You don't have to help him," Robin addressed Red X.

"What choice do I have kid?" Red X asked.

"Help us," Robin replied.

"Can't," Red X replied. "I don't like to play the hero."

"But you know how," Robin replied. "Help us."

"He would track me down," Red X explained. "I don't want to always be looking over my shoulder for Slade."

"Join our side," Robin pleaded.

"Who would take me in kid?" Red X asked. "I'm a crook."

"So was Jinx," Robin pointed out. "She joined Titan's East with Kid Flash." Red X said nothing. "Become a Teen Titan. You'll find saving lives feels better than stealing."

"I know how it feels to be a hero," Red X replied. "But a hero I'm not. Never will be kid."

"Maybe it's time to change that," Robin challenged.

"What do you want me to do?" Red X asked. Robin smiled.

"Get Blackfire out of that machine!" he replied, then he ran back to the fight with Slade. Red X stood for a moment, then ran towards the machine.

"There's got to be a way to open this," he muttered. He threw his shoulder into the side of the machine. Nothing happened. Red X snapped his fingers, and took out one of his red x's from his belt. He placed that on the side of the machine and dove for cover. There was an explosion, and a hole was blown in the side of the machine. Red X stood up. Blackfire was still inside. He threw one of his x's onto her eyes. The machine kept going, but Blackfire let out a shriek. Working quickly, Red X bound Blackfire with some other of his x's, and dragged her out of the machine. Galfore groaned and sat up. "Watch her." Red X instructed the Tamaranian, and ran towards where the Titans were fighting Slade. "Tag." He grabbed Starfire on the shoulder. She pelted him with a starbolt. "What was that for?" He demanded. "I'm helping you!"

"I do not trust the Red X," Starfire replied.

"Just go turn off the machine," Red X replied. Starfire turned and gasped to see the machine empty.

"How did you...?" she trailed off as he shoved her towards the machine.

"Just go!" he barked. Starfire shrugged, and flew into the machine. The lasers scanned her. Taking a breath she shot her eye-beams into the machine. She could hear the machine whirring. The remaining Titans, and Red X continued to fight Slade. They could hear the whirring of the machine.

"I thought she was going to turn it off!" Cyborg wailed.

"I didn't exactly see an on/off switch when I was inside," Red X growled.

"We have to trust that she will do it," Robin replied.

"If she doesn't," Raven droned. "We're all going to be in a lot of trouble." As she spoke, there was a loud bang. Everyone turned to see smoke billowing from the now broken machine.

"Starfire!" Robin bellowed, and ran towards the wreckage. He fought his way through the plumes of smoke to see her lying on the ground. He scooped her up, and carried her back to the others. Beast Boy shifted back to his human form.

"Dude," he frowned. "Is she...?"

"She's alive," Robin's voice was rough with emotion. "But she's unconscious."

"Well Titans," Slade's voice made them turn around again. "It was nice seeing you all again, but now is when I'll take my leave." He did a back flip and landed near a rope that no one had noticed before. He turned, but Red X was standing in his path. "Well played dear boy." He leaned down to look Red X in the eyes. "Get the Titans to trust you, and then help me with my escape. You should be my apprentice." Red X looked back towards the Titans.

"Thanks," he replied. Slade extended out his hand for Red X to shake. "But no thanks." Red X threw one of his x's around the villain, tying his hands to his sides.

"Impressive," Slade mused. "Some other time then maybe."

"What do we do now kid?" Red X ignored Slade.

"Blackfire will go back into jail here in Tamaran," Robin replied.

"I am sorry sister," Starfire sighed. "Perhaps if you didn't continue these awful things we could be friends."

"That'll never happen little sister," Blackfire snorted.

"She will not escape again," Galfore promised. Then he wrapped Starfire up into a hug. "Farewell princess. Until we meet again."

"Farewell Galfore," Starfire hugged him back. "Take good care of my sister." The giant Tamaranian nodded.

"There's not enough room in the T-ship for Slade, Red X, and the rest of us," Cyborg pointed out.

"How did you get here Red X?" Robin replied.

"Stole a T-ship from Titan's East," Red X replied.

"Oh man," Cyborg shook his head. "Tramm's going to kill you man."

"I'll fly back with Red X," Raven volunteered. "That way I can take him to Titan's East to return their ship."

"Be careful," Robin instructed her. He loaded Slade up into the T-ship. Beast Boy walked over to Red-X.

"If you hurt her I'll kill you," he hissed.

"I believe you," Red X replied after a moment. Beast Boy glared at him, and then went over to the T-ship with the others. Raven followed Red X towards where the Titan's East T-ship was hidden. They clambered in, and followed Cyborg back to Earth. Raven kept going. "You really taking me to Titan's East?" Red X asked her. Raven nodded and he groaned. Raven took out her communicator.

"Hey Argent?" she asked.

"Yes?" a female, Australian voice emanated from the communicator.

"Would you meet me at Titan's East please?" Raven requested.

"Sure," was the reply.

"Who was that?" Red X asked.

"An Honourary Titan," Raven replied.

"She going to take me to jail?" Red X asked. Raven didn't reply. She landed the T-ship on the top of Titan's East. She stepped out and was met by a very flustered Tramm.

"You took our T-ship?" Raven turned to see Aqualad, and she blushed slightly.

"No," Red X stepped out. "I did."

"Who's this?" Aqualad demanded.

"The name's Red X," Red X replied.

"He'll be staying with you," Raven replied. Red X, Aqualad, and Tramm looked at her in surprise.

"So what's the big emergency then mate?" everyone turned to see a girl wearing a black corset, gloves, shoes, and red skirt hovering beside the tower. Her hair was also black and red, and an 'A' was inscribed on the top of her chest.

"Good to see you Argent," Raven nodded towards her Goth friend. They had bonded at one of Raven's book stores a while ago over a cup of tea. She had blurted out to the Honourary Titan how she felt about Beast Boy. Argent, for her part, had never said anything to Beast Boy, and the two girls became friends shortly after.

"Who's this?" Argent touched down beside Red X who was staring at her. Raven smirked. In the conversation of boys, Argent had told her that she liked Bad Boys. So who better for her than Red X. He was after all a good, bad guy.

"This is Red X," Raven introduced him.

"Red X," Argent smiled. "Very mysterious name there mate."

"Thanks," Red X managed to say.

"Red X?" everyone turned to see Bumble Bee standing with her hands on her hips. "As in the criminal, Red X?"

"That'd be me," Red X replied.

"If he's a criminal," Aqualad frowned. "Why'd you bring him here." Raven looked at Red X.

"I turned against Slade," Red X replied. "It's not safe for me out there as a crook. They said I could come here. Be a Teen Titan."

"A reformed criminal then?" Argent asked him.

"I guess so," Red X replied.

"Well you'll need someone to keep an eye out for you then won't you?" she asked. "Make sure you don't slip back into your old habits." He nodded. "Then I guess I'm staying here too then." She grinned impishly at him.

"Wait a minute," Bumble Bee wailed. "There's no room! We're already over crowded with Jinx and Kid Flash here."

"What if we create a Titan's West?" Raven suggested. "Kid Flash, Jinx, Red X, Argent."

"They would need someone to be the leader, keep everyone in line," Bumble Bee replied. There was a moment of silence, and then everyone except for Red X said "Pantha."

"I'll get Robin to get a hold of her and ask," Raven replied. "In the meantime, can Red X stay with you Argent?"

"He sure can," Argent grinned at her, and took his hands. "Come on then." Red X looked at Raven.

"Thanks," he said.

"Don't screw it up," Raven warned him. Then Argent took off, Red X dangling below her.


	11. Chapter 11 It's All Over Now

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: As I'm writing this, I have no internet. So I have no idea when this will get posted. Review! Also the Red X/Argent pairing was something I came up with at the last minute. Therefore if you hate it, tough. My story, my rules.**

Chapter 11 – It's All Over Now

Beast Boy paced the floor of Titan's Tower. Cyborg was teaching Sarasim how to use the microwave. Beast Boy looked down at his communicator. Nothing. He was worried about Raven. Red X could've kidnapped her or something.

"Where is she?" he wondered alloud.

"Cool you jets Gar," Cyborg grinned at him. "You're just worried that she ran away with him instead of you." Beast Boy growled softly. "Take a pill man." Cyborg held up his hands. "I was only joking."

"Pills!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "I don't have to take those stupid pills anymore."

"That's nice," Cyborg replied aimlessly. Beast Boy rolled his eyes, and continued pacing.

"Where is she," Beast Boy moaned.

"How long has he been like this?" Beast Boy whirled around to see Raven hovering in the door way.

"Ever since we got here," Cyborg replied, rolling his one human eye.

"Raven!" Beast Boy ran towards there and threw his arms around her ankles.

"Where's Slade?" Raven asked.

"Jail," Cyborg grinned. "He's not going to be breathing fresh air for a long time."

"That must've made Richard happy," Raven mused. Then she looked around. "Where is Richard anyway?"

- Scene Break -

Robin sat beside Starfire in the med-wing. He was holding her hand. Behind his mask, Robin was in agony. He couldn't imagine his life without her. Cyborg had said that she was stable, but couldn't predict when she would wake up.

"Come on Star," Robin whispered. "My life won't be complete without you in it." He realized now how stupid it was that he had never told her how he felt. How terrible it had been of him to kiss her in Tokyo and then rebut it. He hated himself for that. He couldn't imagine what he had been so afraid of. "Time to grow up." He said softly, and he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you Star." He whispered, stroking her hair. He got a piece of paper from his belt and scribbled a note on it. Then he placed it in her hand and left the room.

He walked purposely back to his own room. He needed to grow up. Move on from the fears of Robin. He remembered something Starfire had said ages ago about meeting him as Nightwing. He knew that now was the time for Robin to become Nightwing. He had managed to get a description of the costume from Starfire a few months after that had happened. He shut himself in his room, and began to work.

- Scene Break -

Starfire opened her eyes slowly. She groaned and raised her hand to her head. By doing this, she noticed the paper in her hand. Opening it, she recognized Robin's writing. 'I'll be in my room.' It said. 'Please come see me when you wake up. There's something I need to tell you.' Starfire sat up and stretched her long legs. She wondered what Robin needed her for. She floated out of the wing, and towards his room. She knocked, and waited.

"Come in," Robin's voice encouraged from inside. Starfire opened the door, and entered the room. At first she didn't see him. He was bent over his work station.

"Richard?" she asked, approaching him. She watched as he reached down, picked up something from the table and place it on his face. Then he looked up at her. Starfire gasped. Robin wasn't Robin anymore.

"I thought it was time to grow up," he smiled at her. "I'm Nightwing now."

"Is this what you needed to tell me?" Starfire asked, feeling disappointed.

"Well," Nightwing approached her. "Yes and no. I needed to leave Robin behind. Robin was being ruled too much by fear and rules."

"And Nightwing is not?" she asked. Nightwing took her hands.

"No," he replied. "Nightwing is not. As Robin, I was a sidekick to Batman. He was always telling me what to do. What was safe. Nightwing can take what Batman taught Robin, and apply them in his own ways."

"I fear you are confusing me," Starfire sighed.

"I'm going to tell you something that as Robin I never could have," Nightwing replied. He placed a finger under her chin. "Starfire, I love you."

"You do?" she gushed. Nightwing nodded.

"I've always loved you," he admitted. "But as Robin, I was afraid to tell you. Afraid that my love for you would get you into more trouble. Now, as Nightwing I realize that everyone else knew that I loved you anyway."

"And what about this Batman?" Starfire asked.

"I don't need his permission," Nightwing replied, and he pulled her face down to his and kissed her with every last bit of passion that he had.

- Scene Break -

Bruce Wayne frowned at his screen. According to his computer, Scarecrow had escaped from prison. Although he had captured Scarecrow on his own in the past, it was always easier with a partner.

"Troubles Master Wayne?" Alfred asked.

"Did I chase Richard away?" Bruce asked. "I was so worried about keeping him safe that I drove him away."

"Master Grayson needed to leave the nest," Alfred replied.

"I am proud of him Alfred," Bruce sighed. "But I worried so much that he hates me now."

"He was your ward," Aflred reminded him. "You had to look out for him."

"I miss him Alfred," Bruce admitted quietly. There was a quiet thud behind the two men that made them turn. Sitting in the middle of the lair was the Robin costume. "What is this?" Bruce growled.

"Thought I'd return it," Bruce and Alfred looked up to see a figure crouched on some scaffolding.

"What have you done with Robin?" Bruce demanded. The figure dropped down in front of him, and regarded his former mentor quietly. "Richard?" Bruce asked.

"I'm Nightwing now," the figure replied. "And as such I'm going to pursue a relationship with Starfire." Bruce opened his mouth to say something. "I don't care what you have to say about it. I'm Nightwing now. I make my own rules."

"Fair enough," Bruce picked up the costume. "I am proud of you Richard. Proud as any father could be. I wish things hadn't ended the way they had."

"The Teen Titans are my family now," Nightwing replied. Then he placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "But you'll always be my father." He held out his other hand for Bruce to shake. Bruce squeezed his hand. "The Teen Titans will always be here if you need us Bruce."

"Whoa," everyone turned to see a young man peering up through a sewer cover. "I found it! I found Batman's lair!"

"Who are you?" Bruce asked the boy, stunned that anyone could've found the lair.

"Tim Drake," the boy replied. "I've wanted to be Robin for the longest time." Nightwing and Bruce looked at each other.

"Let him be Robin, Bruce," Nightwing smiled. "He's earned it."

- Scene Break -

"So now that this whole mess is over," Cyborg's shoulders were slumped. "I guess you'll be wanting to go back to your own time." Sarasim glanced at him. "I'll go get Raven." The robotic Titan began to shuffle off.

"Victor wait," Sarasim caught up to him.

"You can't stay here Sarasim," Cyborg said sadly. "Slade is just one of many villains that the Teen Titans have to deal with."

"I know," Sarasim replied. "But I am a warrior. I am used to fighting."

"You're not used to our villains," Cyborg replied. "Technology is a factor Sarasim."

"I am too primitive," Sarasim stated. Cyborg pulled her into his arms.

"No Sarasim," he shook his head. "You're amazing. But our bad-guys are too dangerous for you."

"I do not want to go," Sarasim replied. "I like it here. I can use updated weapons. You can teach me."

"You mean it?" Cyborg perked up.

"I want to be a Teen Titan," Sarasim smiled at him. Cyborg grinned, and pulled her into a fierce hug.

"Oh man, there's so much to teach you," he grinned. Then he ran around and turned on the game station. "But first, you have to learn how to kick Gar's butt."

"Who's kicking my butt?" Beast Boy asked as he walked into the room.

"Sarasim," Cyborg grinned. "She's staying with us. Wants to be a Teen Titan."

"Sweet," Beast Boy grinned. He poked his head out of the room. "Hey everyone, Sarasim's joining the team. She wants to be a Teen Titan." Raven floated it. Beast Boy tugged at her cloak. "Did you hear Raven? Sarasim's joining the team."

"I heard," Raven replied. "I think most of Jump City heard. You do realize this means you have to do more shopping with Starfire right?" Sarasim winced.

"Why is shopping with Star so bad anyway?" Beast Boy asked.

"She made me buy pink panties the last time I went with her," Raven muttered. Beast Boy stared at her. She blushed. "I really didn't mean to say that out loud."

"Okay," Beast Boy blushed. "Going to try not to think about Raven in pink panties thank-you very much." Then he clapped his hand over his mouth.

"What?" Cyborg looked over at them.

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded," Beast Boy squeaked.

"Did she make you get the matching...?" Sarasim trailed off.

"Bra?" Raven asked. "Yeah. Could've killed her for that. Pink is not my colour." Then she blushed even deeper.

"Happy likes pink," Beast Boy piped up before feeling like he would die from embarrassment.

"She was thrilled when I had it on," Raven growled. "Believe me." Beast Boy wished he could sink into the floor.

"Who's Happy?" Sarasim wanted to know.

"One of Raven's emotions," Beast Boy was glad for the change in topic. Sarasim raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," Cyborg encouraged. "It's kind of complicated." Sarasim nodded. Starfire swooped into the room.

"Pardon my tardiness friends," she gushed. "But I could not find Silkie and feared that he had eaten Victor's weight set."

"You are evil you know that?" Beast Boy flailed his arms at her.

"I do not understand," Starfire blinked.

"Because of you, now all I can think about is Raven in a pink bra and panties," Beast Boy blurted out. Then he squeaked, realizing what he had just said. "Someone just kill me please before I say anything else."

"What's going on team?" everyone turned to see a figure in black. A blue bird was blazed across his chest.

"Richard?" Cyborg asked. The figure nodded.

"Oh," Starfire gasped. "I am rude. Everyone, this is Nightwing."

"The Teen Titans are growing up," Cyborg murmured.

"So what?" Beast Boy asked. "I'm still a teen."

"Not all of us will be for much longer," Cyborg replied.

"Then we'll just be Titans," Raven shrugged. "Not a big deal." She turned to Nightwing. "Did you get a hold of Pantha?"

"Yes," Nightwing replied. "She's heading over to find a spot for the Titan's West Tower to be constructed."

"Titan's West?" Starfire asked.

"Pantha will lead," Nightwing explained. "With her will be Kid Flash, Jinx, Argent, and Red X."

"Only Pantha could keep two reformed criminals in line," Cyborg agreed.

"I've also contacted some of the other Honourary Titans to create a Titans North, and a Titan's South," Nightwing replied. "Kole, Gnarrk, Herald, Thunder, and Lighting will be Titan's North, and Red Star, Hot Spot, Wildebeest, Jericho, and Bushido will be Titan's South. We're Titan's Central."

"That's a lot of Titans," Sarasim breathed.

"That's not all of them either," Cyborg informed her. "There are lots more Honourary Titans."

"This is most exciting," Starfire gushed. "I wish to initiate the taking of a group photograph to celebrate the occasion."

"That's a good idea y'all," Cyborg nodded.

"I shall fetch Silkie," Starfire zoomed out of the room.

"Things are changing y'all," Cyborg shook his head.

"For the better," Sarasim reminded him.

"With the creation of Titan's West, South, and North, villains can more effectively be taken down," Raven pointed out.

"Unless it's Slade," Nightwing replied.

"Oh come on dude," Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "It's not like Slade is going to break out of prison right away."

"He'll find a way," Nightwing replied.

"And when he does, the Titans will take him down," Raven assured him. Starfire flew in, Silkie in her arms.

"I have retrieved Silkie," she gushed. "I am ready for the taking of the photograph."

"Y'all can argue over who sits where while I set this up," Cyborg whipped out a camera from somewhere inside his circuits. Raven sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Mind if I join you?" Beast Boy asked.

"Knock yourself out," Raven shrugged. Secretly, she was pleased to be sitting next to him.

"Will you kill me if I put my arm around you?" Beast Boy wanted to know.

"Possibly," Raven returned. Beast Boy scooted close to her, and wrapped his arm around her slim waist regardless. Raven said nothing. Inside her head however, her emotions were having a hay-day.

'He's touching us,' Happy gushed. Raven flushed at her words.

'He's touched us a few times on this adventure,' Knowledge replied. Raven recalled waking up next to him, and all the odd positions they had found themselves in.

'Remember that time he didn't want to move his hand?' Rude asked. Raven flushed even more. 'If he had, he would've touched our...'

"Will you shut up," Raven hissed.

"Huh?" Beast Boy looked at her.

"Sorry," Raven sighed. "My emotions are all talking at me." Beast Boy opened his mouth to speak, but doubled over instead, his arms going across his stomach. "Garfield?" Raven placed her hand on his back.

'Now slide that hand down over his backside,' Rude suggested. 'I bet he has a great butt.'

"Now is not the time," Raven replied.

"What?" Beast Boy asked.

"Talking to Rude," Raven replied.

"Never met Rude," Beast Boy gasped.

"You're not missing much," Raven muttered.

"Raven," Beast Boy moaned softly. She took his hand in hers. "It hurts." She squeezed his fingers. Beast Boy whimpered softly and looked up at her. Raven stared, the outside of his irises were turning dark green. The roots of his blonde hair were turning the same colour. His mouth was open from panting, and Raven could see his canines elongating. She watched as his ears did the same. "Is it over?" He begged.

"Almost," Raven assured him. He sat across from her, trembling. Then he was the Beast Boy that she knew and loved again. "There." She squeezed his fingers. "You're done." Beast Boy sighed.

"I almost got used to being normal again," he murmured.

"This is you," Raven replied firmly. She took his face in her hands. "This is who Garfield Mark Logan is." Beast Boy smiled, his lower canine protruding now, the way it should.

"All right y'all," Cyborg looked up. "Whoa Gar, you're green again."

"Thanks for noticing," Beast Boy grumbled.

"Good to have you back Garfield," Nightwing stated. He sat down on the couch behind Raven, and Beast Boy. Starfire sat beside him with Silkie. Sarasim stood behind the couch beside them.

"Ready y'all?" Cyborg asked. "When the flash goes, everybody say 'Titans.'" He set the timer, and ran over to Sarasim, slipping his arm around her waist and giving a peace sign. Nightwing rested his arms on the back of the couch so that his arms were over Starfire's shoulders. Beast Boy slipped his arm around Raven's waist again. The camera beeped a few times.

"Titans," everyone said, and the flash went off.


	12. Chapter 12 Finally

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**Author's Comments: Still no internet. No idea when this will get posted. This is the last chapter of ****Universal Threat**** so keep your eyes open for the sequel, ****Personal Demons****. Sorry if this chapter is short. I didn't have a lot of material for it. Check out the corresponding picture will be on deviantART ASAP.**

Chapter 12 – Finally!

"The lights are dancing in my eyes," Starfire frowned. "Is that normal?"

"That's the flash Star," Nightwing assured her. "It's normal."

"Now we should take pictures of everyone with everyone," Cyborg grinned.

"Didn't we just do that?" Raven asked.

"I think Vic means a picture of you with me, then you with Star, you with Richard, that kind of thing," Beast Boy informed her.

"Oh," Raven frowned.

"We should also have individual pictures," Cyborg rattled on. "And maybe pictures of the girls together, and the guys together."

"How long has it been since any of these photographs were taken?" Sarasim asked.

"Never," Raven replied. "Hence the picture frenzy."

"Well what do y'all have as your profile pictures on facebook?" Cyborg asked.

"Dude," Beast Boy laughed. "You're on facebook?"

"What's facebook?" Sarasim asked.

"I'll show you later," Cyborg promised. "And yes, I'm on facebook. Y'all should be too. I have lots of friends, and even more fans."

"You're weird," Raven shook her head.

"Well I am going to set y'all up with accounts," Cyborg replied.

"Super," Raven rolled her eyes.

"Since you're so excited Raven, let's get your picture first," Cyborg pushed. Raven looked to Beast Boy.

"He'll just keep bothering you until you let him," the shape-shifter shrugged. Raven groaned. She was grateful for her hood being up. Once Cyborg was done with her he called up the other Titans.

"Now I want all the girls together," Cyborg gestured. Sarasim, Starfire, and Raven grouped together. Then Raven took the picture of the boys. "Now I want Raven with Starfire. Raven with Richard." Beast Boy frowned slightly when Raven and Nightwing stood next to each other for their picture. "Raven with Sarasim. Raven with me." Beast Boy took that picture. "And last but not least Raven with Garfield." Beast Boy pretended like he hadn't been waiting for their picture. Again he slipped his arm around Raven's waist. While Cyborg continued to take pictures of almost everything imaginable, Beast Boy sat beside Raven on the couch.

"He's lost it," Raven jerked her thumb at the mad photographer.

"These are going to be a lot of pictures to put on facebook," Beast Boy grumbled.

"You're already on facebook?" Raven raised an eyebrow at him.

"No," Beast Boy assured her. "But I think after Vic's done with us, we'll all be on facebook whether we want to or not."

"From what I've heard, you get people asking to be your friend all the time," Raven replied. Beast Boy nodded. "What if Terra added you, what would you do?"

"I don't know," Beast Boy replied. "You don't have to be friends with your friends on facebook. Although, she did betray us. Twice. So I guess not." Raven felt relieved. "You also put relationships on there." Beast Boy continued. "Like Vic's probably going to ask Sarasim out, and then they'll be in a relationship. Same with Richard and Star."

"Not much privacy then," Raven stated.

"Guess not," Beast Boy agreed. Later, the Titans sat around while Cyborg made their profiles.

"There," he announced. "All done."

Raven looked at hers, "That's a lot of pictures of me Vic."

"Those are just pictures that you're tagged in," Cyborg replied. "That one's your profile picture."

"Well at least it's not completely horrible," Raven murmured.

"Sarasim I wanted to ask you something," Cyborg ignored the telekinetic Titan. "Since you're staying here. I was wondering if you'd go out with me."

"I'm not sure what that means Victor," Sarasim replied. "I am not from this time."

"I'd like for you to be my girlfriend," Cyborg replied.

"I thought I already was," Sarasim replied.

"Anyone want to explain this to Sarasim?" Cyborg looked around helplessly.

"Dude, you asked her, you explain it," Beast Boy grinned.

"Being boyfriend and girlfriend means doing things together," Cyborg was blushing at this point. "Like going to movies, having dinner, holding hands..." He looked at his feet. "Maybe occasional kisses."

"Well then I'd love to be your girlfriend," Sarasim replied, and she kissed him on the lips.

"Booyah!" Cyborg pumped his fist. "I can't wait to put that on facebook!"

"Cyber-freak," Raven muttered shaking her head.

"Richard," Starfire turned to Nightwing. "Will you ask me to be your girlfriend on the book of face?"

"It's facebook Star," said Cyborg. "And it's Richard. Nightwing or not, some things don't change." Starfire sighed, her shoulders slumping. She began to float towards the doors.

"Wait," Nightwing grabbed her hand. Starfire looked down at him, hope in her green eyes. "I have to say this in front of everyone." He smiled up at her. "Starfire?"

"Yes Richard?" Starfire gushed.

"I love you," he said for the second time. It felt good to be saying this in front of the other Titans. Cyborg's jaw dropped. "I would like to ask you to be my girlfriend. Not just a friend that is a girl." Starfire giggled. "A girlfriend."

"I would like that very much boyfriend Richard," Starfire gushed. Nightwing smiled, and for the second time, he pulled her face towards his and kissed her with every passion that he had. They were so locked in each other that they didn't notice the flash of the camera. Beast Boy lowered the camera and grinned widely. Raven stood beside him, her hands on her hips.

"Took you long enough dude," Beast Boy addressed the couple. They continued their embrace. "Can't wait to put this on facebook." Beast Boy waved the camera. Raven looked at him dully. She was very aware of Cyborg and Sarasim holding hands. Of Nightwing and Starfire kissing. She and Beast Boy were the only two not joined in some way.

"Okay, starting to feel awkward here dudes," Beast Boy shifted his weight.

"Oh let them have their fun Gar," Cyborg grinned. "We've been waiting how long for Richard to admit his love for Star?"

"True," Beast Boy admitted. "But they should probably come up for air at some point."

"Star's an alien Gar," Cyborg reminded him. "Who knows how long she can go without breathing." Raven had to leave. She couldn't stand to be with these couples. She turned and fled the room.

"Raven?" Beast Boy blinked. Then he pursued her. Her bedroom door slammed in his face, so he beat on it with his fist. "Raven what's going on? You okay?" No answer. "Raven I'm coming in, so please don't be changing or anything." Briefly the image of Raven in the pink bra and panties flashed through his mind. Beast Boy shook his head, ridding his thoughts of the image. He opened the door to find Raven's back to him. He went over to the bed and sat down beside her. "What's wrong Raven."

"They finally got together," Raven managed to say through her tears.

"Yeah," Beast Boy nodded. "About time don't you think." Raven put her head in her hands. "Whoa, Raven!" He put his arms around her. "Don't cry." Then he thought about it. When he came to the conclusion, he was angry. "Are you upset because you love Richard?" He tried to keep the pain out of his voice. Raven managed to shake her head, and Beast Boy felt a flood of relief. "Then what?"

"Richard and Starfire are together," she whispered. "And Victor is with Sarasim. I'm all alone in a tower full of couples."

"You aren't the only one," Beast Boy reminded her. "I'm not with anyone either." The idea that everyone else in the tower was matched except the two of them suddenly freaked Beast Boy out. Raven nodded. Not wanting to say anything. "Well..." He shifted, and she looked up at him with her dark eyes. "You aren't alone Raven." He said at length. "You got me." He put his arm around her shoulders. "You heard your mother, I'm supposed to look after you."

"That doesn't bother you?" Raven asked him. "Knowing your own destiny?"

"There are worse destinies to have," Beast Boy replied and then flinched.

"Yeah," Raven nodded. "Like knowing that you're going to destroy the world."

"All things considered," Beast Boy replied. "That didn't go too badly. You kicked Trigon's butt, and brought the world back."

"I guess," Raven shrugged.

"You're not dead which is a plus," Beast Boy elbowed her. Raven rolled her eyes. Beast Boy took her hand. "You think you're alone Raven, but you're not." Raven turned, and like the last time he had said these words, she hugged him. Instead of being surprised and pulling away, Beast Boy held her close. Enjoying the sensation of being so close to her. At length Raven broke the embrace. She wanted so badly to kiss him, to tell him how she felt. "What's on your mind?" The shape-shifter asked.

"Nothing," she lied.

"Fair enough," Beast Boy nodded. Then he grinned. "So..." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Do you want company tonight?"


End file.
